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The chiral code: From DNA primary structures to quaternary assemblies
Author(s) -
Minsky Abraham
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
chirality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.43
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1520-636X
pISSN - 0899-0042
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-636x(1998)10:5<405::aid-chir6>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - chemistry , dna supercoil , dna , chirality (physics) , homochirality , asymmetry , stereochemistry , superhelix , nucleic acid , crystallography , biophysics , enantiomer , biochemistry , dna replication , chiral symmetry breaking , symmetry breaking , physics , quantum mechanics , nambu–jona lasinio model , biology
Nucleic acids are characterized by a predominant right‐handed helical configuration that derives from the chirality of the sugar moiety. Hitherto, only “local” effects of this helical asymmetry, exemplified by DNA interactions with small compounds, have been documented. The results described in this study indicate that an enhanced asymmetry is required for the manifestation of chiral effects in DNA self‐assembly processes or for chiral discrimination upon interactions with peptides. Two cases in which the intrinsic DNA asymmetry is enhanced are reported: rod‐like superhelical species derived from linear DNA molecules, and topologically constrained supercoiled DNA. In the first case, the superhelical grooves within the DNA rods allow for a stereospecific complexation with peptides, resulting in chiral discrimination. In the second case, it is shown that the properties of cholesteric assemblies derived from supercoiled DNA are strictly determined by the enhanced asymmetry associated with molecular supercoiling. The results allow for new reflections on the concept of molecular complementarity, and indicate that spontaneously obtained chiral DNA mesophases might have played a key role in determining terrestrial homochirality. Chirality 10:405–414, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.