title: The structure of a stable intermediate in the A <--> B DNA helix transition.
abstract: The DNA dodecamer CATGGGCCCATG in a crystal structure of resolution 1.3 A has a conformation intermediate between A and B DNA. This trapping of a stable intermediate suggests that the A and B DNA families are not discrete, as previously believed. The structure supports a base-centered rather than a backbone-centered mechanism for the A <--> B transition mediated by guanine tracts. Interconversion between A and B DNA provides another means for regulating protein-DNA recognition.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1570, USA.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kopka
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Dickerson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
chemical_list: D004247:DNA