Structural basis of plasmid addiction and programmed cell death in bacteria

The structure-functrion dogma states that a functional protein is characterized by a well-defined three-dimensional structure. There exists, however, a class of proteins that is intrinsically disordered in its native, functional state. The C-terminal domain of CcdA is such a protein. We recently determined the mechanism of action of CcdA as a rescuer for CcdB-poisoned gyrase. In this project, we further analyze the mopde of action of CcdA and its interaction with ccdB by a combination of X-ray crystallography, biophysics and solution NMR.