DnaA protein DNA-binding domain binds to Hda protein to promote inter-AAA+ domain interaction involved in regulatory inactivation of DnaA.

Chromosomal replication is initiated from the replication origin oriC in Escherichia coli by the active ATP-bound form of DnaA protein. The regulatory inactivation of DnaA (RIDA) system, a complex of the ADP-bound Hda and the DNA-loaded replicase clamp, represses extra initiations by facilitating DnaA-bound ATP hydrolysis, yielding the inactive ADP-bound form of DnaA. However, the mechanisms involved in promoting the DnaA-Hda interaction have not been determined except for the involvement of an interaction between the AAA+ domains of the two. This study revealed that DnaA Leu-422 and Pro-423 residues within DnaA domain IV, including a typical DNA-binding HTH motif, are specifically required for RIDA-dependent ATP hydrolysis in vitro and that these residues support efficient interaction with the DNA-loaded clamp·Hda complex and with Hda in vitro. Consistently, substitutions of these residues caused accumulation of ATP-bound DnaA in vivo and oriC-dependent inhibition of cell growth. Leu-422 plays a more important role in these activities than Pro-423. By contrast, neither of these residues is crucial for DNA replication from oriC, although they are highly conserved in DnaA orthologues. Structural analysis of a DnaA·Hda complex model suggested that these residues make contact with residues in the vicinity of the Hda AAA+ sensor I that participates in formation of a nucleotide-interacting surface. Together, the results show that functional DnaA-Hda interactions require a second interaction site within DnaA domain IV in addition to the AAA+ domain and suggest that these interactions are crucial for the formation of RIDA complexes that are active for DnaA-ATP hydrolysis.