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The conformation of a B‐DNA decamer is mainly determined by its sequence and not by crystal environment.
Author(s) -
Heinemann U.,
Alings C.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07918.x
Subject(s) - physics , crystal structure , dna , sequence (biology) , oligonucleotide , crystallography , biology , combinatorics , stereochemistry , genetics , chemistry , mathematics
By comparing the conformations adopted by a double‐stranded decameric B‐DNA fragment in different crystal environments, we address the question of the degree of deformability of DNA helices. The three‐dimensional structure of the self‐complementary DNA decamer CCAGGCmeCTGG has been determined from crystals of space group P6 at 2.25 A resolution with an R value of 17.2% for 2407 1 sigma structure amplitudes. The oligonucleotide forms a B‐type double helix with a characteristic sequence‐dependent conformation closely resembling that of the corresponding unmethylated decamer, the structure of which is known from a high‐resolution analysis of crystals of space group C2. Evidently, both the effects of single‐site methylation and altered crystal environment on the DNA conformation are small. Therefore, double‐helical DNA may possess sequence‐determined conformational features that are less deformable than previously thought.