InterPro domain: IPR003690

This entry represents the mitochondrial/chloroplastic transcription termination factors (MTERFs). In humans four MTERFs have been identified (MTERF1-4). MTERF1 was first identified as a factor responsible for terminating heavy strand transcription at a specific site at the leu-tRNA, thereby modulating the ratio of mitochondrial ribosomal RNA to mRNA [ 1 ]. Later, MTERF1 was found to stimulate transcriptional initiation [ 2 ] and appeared to be in the control of mitochondrial replication pausing [ 3 ]. From a structural study, it binds to dsDNA containing the termination sequence and unwinds the DNA molecule, promoting base eversion, which is critical for transcription termination [ 4 ].

1. Termination of transcription in human mitochondria: identification and purification of a DNA binding protein factor that promotes termination. Cell 58, 391-7
2. The MTERF family proteins: mitochondrial transcription regulators and beyond. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1787, 303-11
3. The mitochondrial transcription termination factor mTERF modulates replication pausing in human mitochondrial DNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 35, 6458-74
4. Helix unwinding and base flipping enable human MTERF1 to terminate mitochondrial transcription. Cell 141, 982-93