title: The B- to Z-DNA equilibrium in vivo is perturbed by biological processes.
abstract: Right-handed B and left-handed Z conformations coexist in equilibrium in portions of plasmids in Escherichia coli. The equilibria are influenced by the length of the sequences that undergo the structural transitions and are perturbed by biological processes. The composite results of three types of determinations indicate a supercoil density of -0.025 in vivo. The coexistence of alternative DNA conformations in living cells implies the potential of these structures or their transitions for important functions in genetic regulatory processes.
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010957:Plasmids; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D015265:Site-Specific DNA-Methyltransferase (Adenine-Specific) / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; D004247:DNA; C020098:DNA modification methylase EcoRI; D015265:Site-Specific DNA-Methyltransferase (Adenine-Specific)