Open AccessFormation of base triplets by non-Watson-Crick bonds mediates homologous recognition in RecA recombination filaments.
Author(s) -
Basuthkar J. Rao,
Charles M. Radding
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.91.13.6161
Subject(s) - molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid , base pair , duplex (building) , dna , protein filament , homologous recombination , recombination , pairing , biophysics , homologous chromosome , d loop , chemistry , crystallography , biology , genetics , physics , mitochondrial dna , superconductivity , quantum mechanics , gene
Whereas complementary strands of DNA recognize one another by forming Watson-Crick base pairs, the way in which RecA protein enables a single strand to recognize homology in duplex DNA has remained unknown. Recent experiments, however, have shown that a single plus strand in the RecA filament can recognize an identical plus strand via bonds that, by definition, are non-Watson-Crick. In experiments reported here, base substitutions had the same qualitative and quantitative effects on the pairing of two identical strands in the RecA filament as on the recognition of duplex DNA by a third strand, indicating that similar non-Watson-Crick interactions govern both reactions.