title: Mutual interactions of the phosphate groups in locally deformed backbones of various DNA double helices at high salt concentrations.
abstract: Changes in the free energy of mutual phosphate group interactions are calculated that accompany bending of the A-, B- and Z-DNA backbones in 0.7, 2.1 and 4.2 mol/l NaCl aqueous solutions. The bending is often found to be favoured in the direction of the double helix grooves; B-DNA prefers bending into the major groove while minor groove is the preferred bending direction of A-DNA in the presence of 0.7 mol/l NaCl. Interestingly, the preferences are reversed in 4.2 mol/l NaCl. Further stabilization of A-DNA and B-DNA backbones is achieved in some cases if bending is combined with suitable local double helix twist alterations. Bending tendencies of Z-DNA backbone are generally weaker and they decrease, in contrast to B-DNA and A-DNA, with the increasing ionic strength.
authors: Institute of Biophysics, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Brno.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Jursa
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Kypr
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D012996:Solutions; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates; D012996:Solutions; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D004247:DNA