title: The pitch of chromatin DNA is reflected in its nucleotide sequence.
abstract: A correlation analysis of chromatin DNA nucleotide sequences reveals the clear tendency of some of the dinucleotides to be repeated along the sequences with periods of 3 and about 10.5 bases. This latter period, which is equal within experimental error to recent estimates of the pitch of the DNA double helix [Wang, J. (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76, 200-203; Trifonov, E. & Bettecken, T. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 454-456] is interpreted as a reflection of the deformational anisotropy of the DNA molecule that facilitates its smooth folding in chromatin.
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002843:Chromatin / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004247:DNA; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D006657:Histones; D009707:Nucleosomes; D004247:DNA