title: Physical basis of a protein-DNA recognition code.
abstract: Can a stereochemical recognition code explain sequence-specific protein-nucleic acid interactions? Whereas a code that is generally applicable to DNA-binding proteins of all known structural families is unattainable, the indications are that a code can describe at least some of the interactions of classical zinc fingers with DNA. The crystal structures of related zinc finger-DNA complexes reveal a remarkable mode of interaction that sets the framework for this code, and recent biochemical studies have elucidated the intermolecular contacts (contingent on this framework) that result in specificity.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QH, UK.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klug
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004247:DNA