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DNA curving and bending in protein–DNA recognition
Author(s) -
Harrington Rodney E.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01431.x
Subject(s) - biology , dna , context (archaeology) , hmg box , nucleoprotein , dna binding protein , genome , computational biology , dna binding site , binding site , biophysics , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , transcription factor , promoter , gene expression , paleontology
Summary Most biological events are regulated at the molecular level by site‐specific associations between specialized proteins and DNA. These associations may bring distal regions of the genome into functional contact or may lead to the formation of large multisubunit complexes capable of regulating highly site‐specific transactional events. It is now believed that sequence‐specific protein–DNA recognition and the ability of certain proteins to compete for multiple binding sites is regulated at several levels by the local structure and conformation of the binding partners. These encompass the micro structure of DNA, including its curvature, bending and flexing as well as conformational lability in the DNA‐binding domains of the proteins. Possible mechanisms for binding specificity are discussed in the context of specific nucleoprotein systems with particular emphasis given to the roles of DNA conformations in these interactions.