Structural Basis for Converting a General Transcription Factor into an Operon-Specific Virulence Regulator

RfaH, a paralog of the general transcription factor NusG, is recruited to elongating RNA polymerase at specific regulatory sites. The X-ray structure of Escherichia coli RfaH reported here reveals two domains. The N-terminal domain displays high similarity to that of NusG. In contrast, the α-helical coiled-coil C domain, while retaining sequence similarity, is strikingly different from the β barrel of NusG. To our knowledge, such an all-β to all-α transition of the entire domain is the most extreme example of protein fold evolution known to date. Both N domains possess a vast hydrophobic cavity that is buried by the C domain in RfaH but is exposed in NusG. We propose that this cavity constitutes the RNA polymerase-binding site, which becomes unmasked in RfaH only upon sequence-specific binding to the nontemplate DNA strand that triggers domain dissociation. Finally, we argue that RfaH binds to the β′ subunit coiled coil, the major target site for the initiation σ factors.