EcoRII (pronounced 'eco R two') is an Restriction endonuclease enzyme (REase) of the restriction modification system (RM) naturally found in Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacteria. Its molecular mass is 45.2 kDa, being composed of 402 amino acids.
EcoRII is a bacterial Type IIE REase that interacts with two or three copies of the pseudopalindromic DNA recognition sequence 5'-CCWGG-3' (W = A or T), one being the actual target of cleavage, the other(s) serving as the allosteric activator(s). EcoRII cuts the target DNA sequence CCWGG, generating sticky ends.
The apo crystal structure of EcoRII mutant R88A () has been solved at 2.1 ÃÂ resolution. The EcoRII monomer has two domains, N-terminal and C-terminal, linked through a hinge loop.
The N-terminal effector-binding domain has an archetypal DNA-binding pseudobarrel fold () with a prominent cleft. Structural superposition showed it is evolutionarily related to:
The C-terminal catalytic domain has a typical restriction endonuclease-like fold () and belongs to the large (more than 30 members) restriction endonuclease superfamily ().
Structure-based sequence alignment and site-directed mutagenesis identified the putative PD..D/EXK active sites of the EcoRII catalytic domain dimer that in apo structure are spatially blocked by the N-terminal domains.