Helix-turn-helix

In proteins, the helix-turn-helix (HTH) is a major structural motif capable of binding DNA. It is composed of two α helices joined by a short strand of amino acids and is found in many proteins that regulate gene expression. It should not be confused with the helix-loop-helix domain.

The discovery of the helix-turn-helix motif was based on similarities between several genes encoding transcription regulatory proteins from bacteriophage lambda and Escherichia coli: Cro, CAP, and λ repressor, which were found to share a common 20-25 amino acid sequence that facilitates DNA recognition.

The helix-turn-helix motif is a DNA-binding motif. The recognition and binding to DNA by helix-turn-helix proteins is done by the two α helices, one occupying the N-terminal end of the motif, the other at the C-terminus. In most cases, such as in the Cro repressor, the second helix contributes most to DNA recognition, and hence it is often called the "recognition helix". It binds to the major groove of DNA through a series of hydrogen bonds and various Van der Waals interactions with exposed bases. The other α helix stabilizes the interaction between protein and DNA, but does not play a particularly strong role in its recognition. The recognition helix and its preceding helix always have the same relative orientation.

Several attempts have been made to classify the helix-turn-helix motifs based on their structure and the spatial arrangement of their helices. Some of the main types are described below.

...
Wikipedia