The mammalian mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) is encoded in the nucleus and imported into mitochondria, where it functions as an activator of mtDNA transcription and packages mtDNA into DNA-protein aggregates called mitochondrial nucleoids. Two studies in this issue reveal that TFAM shapes mtDNA into a sharp U-turn, providing a molecular mechanism for its dual roles in the expression and maintenance of mtDNA.
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Hallberg, B., Larsson, NG. TFAM forces mtDNA to make a U-turn. Nat Struct Mol Biol 18, 1179–1181 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2167
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2167