title: Electrostatic deformation of DNA by a DNA-binding protein.
abstract: Complementary electrostatic interactions between negatively charged B-DNA and a positively charged array on the lambda Cro repressor protein are shown to substantially contribute to the formation energy of sequence-specific and nonspecific Cro-DNA complexes. The electrostatic interactions favor Cro binding to a bent form of DNA, a geometry which optimizes hydrogen-bonding contacts between Cro and exposed base pair groups in the DNA major groove.
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004563:Electrochemistry; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C016649:phage repressor proteins; D004247:DNA