DNA, B-form

DNA s secondary structure is a helix (Figure 16.1) twisted to the right and known as the DNA B form. The distance between two consecutive bases is 3.4 A. Since the helix repeats itself approximately every 10 bases, the pitch per turn of the helix is 33.4 A. B DNA is the major conformation of DNA in solution. 

Fig. 3. Visualization of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase DNA complexes by electron microscopy. Competition for enz)Tne binding to (a) form I and form Ha pBR322 DNA, (b) form I and form He pBR322 DNA. The arrows indicate a preferential location of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase bound to form I DNA in panel (a) and a preferential location of the enzyme on form Be DNA in panel (b) (r=30). 

Fig. 9.3 Three-dimensional structures of nucleic acid double helices, (a) DNA B-form double helix, (b) RNA A-fram double helix (Reproduced with permissitm fiom Saenger W (1984) Principles of nucleic add structure. Springer-Verlag, New York. Figs. 10.1 and 11.3, pp 244,262)...

The hydration shell is formed with the increasing of the water content of the sample and the NA transforms from the unordered to A- and then to B form, in the case of DNA and DNA-like polynucleotides and salt concentrations similar to in vivo conditions. The reverse process, dehydration of NA, results in the reverse conformational transitions but they take place at the values of relative humidity (r.h.) less than the forward direction [12]. Thus, there is a conformational hysteresis over the hydration-dehydration loop. The adsorption isotherms of the NAs, i.e. the plots of the number of the adsorbed water molecules versus the r.h. of the sample at constant temperature, also demonstrate the hysteresis phenomena [13]. The hysteresis is i( producible and its value does not decrease for at least a week. 

The structure proposed by Watson and Crick was modeled to fit crystallographic data obtained on a sample of the most common form of DNA called B DNA Other forms include A DNA which is similar to but more compact than B DNA and Z DNA which IS a left handed double helix... 

Some oligonucleotides adopt an A-form helical stmcture (Fig. 2a) (5). The average stmctural parameters have been found consistent with the fiber diffraction model, but, as for B-form DNA, considerable variation is apparent among iadividual base pairs. 

Figure 5 Time dependence of RMSD of atomic coordinates from canonical A- and B-DNA forms m two trajectories of a partially hydrated dodecamer duplex. The A and B (A and B coiTespond to A and B forms) trajectories started from the same state and were computed with internal and Cartesian coordinates as independent variables, respectively. (From Ref. 54.)...

The specific protein-DNA interactions described in this book are all with DNA in its regular B-form, or, in some cases with distorted B-DNA. In biological systems DNA appears not to adopt the A conformation, although double-stranded RNA does preferentially adopt this conformation in vivo. Whether or not Z-DNA occurs in nature is a matter of controversy. However, the formation of A-DNA and Z-DNA in vitro does illustrate the large structural changes that DNA can be forced to undergo. 

Figure 8.20 Schematic diagrams of docking the trp repressor to DNA in its inactive (a) and active (b) forms. When L-tryptophan, which is a corepressor, hinds to the repressor, the "heads" change their positions relative to the core to produce the active form of the repressor, which hinds to DNA. The structures of DNA and the trp repressor are outlined.

An alternative form of the right-handed double helix is A-DNA. A-DNA molecules differ in a number of ways from B-DNA. The pitch, or distance required to complete one helical turn, is different. In B-DNA, it is 3.4 nm, whereas in A-DNA it is 2.46 nm. One turn in A-DNA requires 11 bp to complete. Depending on local sequence, 10 to 10.6 bp define one helical turn in B-form DNA. In A-DNA, the base pairs are no longer nearly perpendicular to the helix axis but instead are tilted 19° with respect to this axis. Successive base pairs occur every 0.23 nm along the axis, as opposed to 0.332 nm in B-DNA. The B-form of DNA is thus longer and thinner than the short, squat A-form, which has its base pairs displaced around, rather than centered on, the helix axis. Figure 12.13 shows the relevant structural characteristics of the A- and B-forms of DNA. (Z-DNA, another form of DNA to be discussed shortly, is also depicted in Figure 12.13.) A comparison of the structural properties of A-, B-, and Z-DNA is summarized in Table 12.1. 

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