Faculty Profile

Faculty Profile of Nancy Horton

Nancy Horton

Associate Professor

Email: nhorton@email.arizona.edu
Building: BSW 349
Phone: 520-626-3828

Education and Appointments


  • B.S. 1986, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
  • Ph.D. 1994, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Research Interests


  • Biochemistry
  • Nucleic Acids and Genomes
  • Protein and Membrane Biochemistry
  • Structural Biology

Research Summary

Protein-nucleic acid recognition, enzymology, X-ray crystallography, kinetics, protein dynamics, DNA repair.

The Horton laboratory uses a variety of biochemical and biophysical techniques to investigate protein-DNA interactions involved in recognition, repair, and replication. In addition, we are interested in the relationship between viral infections and the triggering of autoimmunity.

  • Structural Biology
  • DNA Binding Proteins
  • Viral Replication
  • Autoimmunity

Selected Publications

  • "Domain Swapping in Allosteric Modulation of DNA Specificity." Park, C.K., Joshi, H.K., Agrawal, A., Ghare, M.I., Little, E.J., Dunten, P.W., Bitinaite, J., and N.C. Horton. (2010) PLoS Biology, 8(12):e1000554. PMID:8969302

  • "Activation of DNA Cleavage by Oligomerization of DNA bound SgrAI." Park, C.K., Stiteler, A.P., Shah, S., Ghare, M.I., Bitinaite, J. and N.C. Horton. (2010) Biochemistry, 49, 8818-8830. PMID:20836535

  • "Crystallization of Zinc-Finger Proteins Bound To DNA." Horton, N.C., and C.K. Park. (2010) Methods Molecular Biology, 649, 457-477. PMID:20680852

  • "The restriction enzyme SgrAI: structure solution via combination of poor MIRAS and MR phases." Dunten, P.W., Little, E.J., and N.C. Horton. (2009) Acta Crystallography, 65(Pt 4), 393-3988. PMID:19307723

  • "Early Interrogation and Recognition of DNA Sequence by Indirect Readout." Little, E.J., Babic, A.C. and N.C. Horton. (2008) Structure, 16, 1828-1837. PMID:19081059

  • "DNA Distortion and Specificity in a Sequence Dependent Endonuclease." Babic, A.C., Little, E.J., Manohar, V.M., Bitinaite, J. and N.C. Horton. (2008) J. Mol. Biol., 383, 186-204. PMID:18762194[pdf]

  • "The Structure of SgrAI bound to DNA: Recognition of an 8 base pair target." Dunten, P.W., Little, E.J., Gregory, M.T., Manohar, V.M., Dalton, M., Hough, D., Bitinaite, J. and N.C. Horton. (2008) Nucleic Acids Research, 36, 5405-5016. PMID:18701646 [pdf]

  • "DNA Nucleases." N.C. Horton. (2008) In: Protein-Nucleic Acid Interactions: Structural Biology; Carl C. Correll, Ed.; RSC Publishing: Cambridge, United Kingdom. [pdf]

  • "Structure of Aart, a designed six-finger zinc finger peptide, bound to DNA." Segal, D.J., Crotty, J.W., Bhakta, M.S., Barbas (III), C.F., and N.C. Horton. (2006) J. Mol Biol., 363, 405-21. PMID:16963084 [pdf]

  • "Alteration of Sequence Specificity of the Type II restriction endonuclease HincII through an indirect readout mechanism." Joshi, H.K., Etzkorn, C., Chatwell, L., Bitinaite, J., and N.C. Horton. (2006) Biol Chem., 281, 23852-69. PMID:16675462 [pdf]

  • "Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of Aart, a designed six-finger zinc-finger peptide, bound to DNA." Crotty, J.W., Etzkorn, C., Barbas (III), C.F., Segal, D.J. and N.C. Horton. (2005) Acta. Cryst., F61, 573-576. PMID:16511099 [pdf]

  • "DNA induced conformational changes in type II endonucleases; the structure of unliganded HincII." Little, E.J. and N.C. Horton. (2005) J. Mol. Biol., 351, 76-88. PMID:15993893 [pdf]

  • "Ca2+ Binding in the active site of HincII: implications for the catalytic mechanism." Etzkorn, C., and N.C. Horton. (2004) Biochemistry, 43, 13256-13270. PMID:15491133 [pdf]

  • "Mechanistic insights from the structures of HincII bound to cognate DNA cleaved from addition of Mg2+ and Mn2+." Etzkorn, C., and N.C. Horton. (2004) Journal of Molecular Biology, 343, 833-849. PMID:15476804 [pdf]

  • "DNA cleavage by EcoRV endonuclease: two metal ions in three metal ion binding sites." Horton, N.C., and J.J. Perona. (2004) Biochemistry, 43, 6841-6857. PMID:15170321

  • "Electrostatic contributions to site specific DNA cleavage by EcoRV endonuclease." Horton, N.C., Otey, C., Lusetti, S., Sam, M.D., Kohn, J., Martin, A.M., Ananthnarayan, V., and J.J. Perona. (2002) Biochemistry, 41, 10754-10763. PMID:15170321 [pdf]

  • "Sequence selectivity and degeneracy of a restriction endonuclease mediated by DNA intercalation." Horton, N.C., Dorner, L.F., and J.J. Perona. (2002) Nature Structural Biology, 9, 42-47. PMID:11742344 [pdf]

  • "Making the most of metal ions." Horton, N.C., and J.J. Perona. (2001) Nature Structural Biology, 4, 290-293. PMID:11276242 [pdf]

  • "Catalytic efficiency and sequence selectivity of a restriction endonuclease modulated by a distal manganese ion binding site." Sam, M.C., Horton, N.C., Nissan, T.A., and J.J. Perona. (2002) Journal of Molecular Biology, 306, 851-861. PMID:11243793 [pdf]

  • "Mechanism of inhibition of phosphoryl transfer in EcoRV by 3'S phosphorothiolates." Horton, N.C., Connolly, B.A., and J.J. Perona. (2000) JACS, 122, 3314-3324. No PMID [pdf]

  • "Crystallographic snapshots along a protein-induced DNA bending pathway." Horton, N.C., and J.J. Perona. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, USA 97, 729-5734. PMID:10801972 [pdf]

  • "Crystallization and preliminary diffraction analysis of the HincII restriction endonuclease-DNA complex." Horton, N.C., Dorner, L.F., Schildkraut, I., and J.J. Perona. (1999) Acta Crystallography, D55, 1-3. PMID:10531503 [pdf]

  • "Divalent metal dependence of site-specific DNA binding in EcoRV endonuclease." Martin,A.M., Horton, N.C., Lusetti, S., Reich, N.O., and J.J. Perona. (1999) Biochemistry, 38, 8430-8439. PMID:10387089 [pdf]

  • "Metal ion mediated substrate-assisted catalysis in type II restriction endonucleases." Horton, N.C., Newberry, K.J., and J.J. Perona. (1998)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 95, 13489-13494. PMID:9811827 [pdf]

  • "Recognition of flanking DNA sequences by EcoRV endonuclease involves alternative patterns of water-mediated contacts." Horton, N.C., and J.J. Perona. (1998) J. Biol. Chem., 273, 21721-21729. PMID:9705308 [pdf]

  • "Cation binding to the integrin CD11b I domain and activation model assessment." Baldwin, E.T., Sarver, R.W., Bryant Jr., G.L., Curry, K.A., Fairbanks, M.B., Finzel, B.C., Garlick, R.L., Heinrikson, R.L., Horton, N.C.,, Kelley, L.C., Mildner, A.M., Moon, J.B., Mott, J.E., Mutchler, V.T., Tomich, C.C., Watenpaugh, K.D., and V.H. Wiley. (1998) Structure, 6, 923-935. PMID:9687375 [pdf]

  • "Role of protein-induced bending in the specificity of DNA recognition: Crystal structure of EcoRV endonuclease complexed with d(AAAGAT)+d(ATCTT)." Horton, N.C., and J.J. Perona. (1998) J. Mol. Biol, 277, 779-787. PMID:9545372 [pdf]

  • "Escherichia coli lac repressor-lac operator interaction and the influence of allosteric effectors." Horton, N.C., Lewis, M., and P. Lu. (1997) J. Mol. Biol., 265, 1-7. No PMID [pdf]

  • "The structure of an RNA/DNA hybrid: a substrate of the ribonuclease activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase." Horton, N.C., and B.C. Finzel. (1996) J. Mol. Biol., 264, 521-533. PMID:8969302 [pdf]

  • "Crystal structure of the lactose operon repressor and its complexes with DNA and inducer." Lewis, M., Chang, G., Horton, N.C., Kercher, M.A., Pace, H.C., Schumacher, M.A., Brennan, R.G., and P. Lu. (1996) Science, 271, 1201-1332. PMID:8638105 [pdf]

  • "Calculation of the free energy of association for protein complexes." Horton, N.C., and M. Lewis. (1992) Protein Science, 1, 169-181. No PMID [pdf]

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