Premium
Effect of cationic charge localization on DNA structure
Author(s) -
Gold Barry
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.10215
Subject(s) - chemistry , cationic polymerization , dna , nucleic acid , molecule , covalent bond , biophysics , charge (physics) , static electricity , a dna , stereochemistry , crystallography , biochemistry , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , electrical engineering , biology , engineering
DNA is normally considered to be a stiff rod‐like molecule, but proteins and small molecules, which either equilibrium bind to, or covalent bond with, DNA, can overcome the barrier(s) to non‐linearity by changing the local hydrophobic and electrostatic environment at specific DNA sequences. The deformation of DNA by proteins has been shown to be a critical event in transcriptional regulation. In this review, we have focused on how the introduction of cationic charge, and its location, can affect DNA structure. To study the effect of charge, we have used DNA modified with 3‐aminopropyl substitutions at the 5‐position of deoxyuracil that mimic basic lysine‐like sidechains, and which place the cationic charge in the major groove. Previous gel mobility studies with these sidechains have shown that they bend DNA. The location of the cationic sidechains and how they bend DNA is discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Nucleic Acid Sci) 65: 173–179, 2002