Concerted binding and bending of DNA by Escherichia coli integration host factor.

Integration host factor (IHF) is a heterodimeric Escherichia coli protein that plays essential roles in a variety of cellular processes including site-specific recombination, transcription, and DNA replication. The IHF-DNA interface extends over three helical turns and includes sequential minor groove contacts that present strong, sequence specific protection patterns against hydroxyl radical cleavage. Synchrotron X-ray footprinting has been used to follow the kinetics of formation of DNA-protein contacts in the IHF-DNA complex with single base-pair spatial, and millisecond time, resolution.