Information content and complexity in the high-order organization of DNA.
Nucleic acids are characterized by a vast structural variability. Secondary structural conformations include the main polymorphs A, B, and Z, cruciforms, intrinsic curvature, and multistranded motifs. DNA secondary motifs are stabilized and regulated by the primary base sequence, contextual effects, environmental factors, as well as by high-order DNA packaging modes. The high-order modes are, in turn, affected by secondary structures and by the environment. This review is concerned with the flow of structural information among the hierarchical structural levels of DNA molecules, the intricate interplay between the various factors that affect these levels, and the regulation and physiological significance of DNA high-order structures.
Minsky
Abraham
A
Department of Organic Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. avi.minsky@weizmann.ac.il
D001665:Binding Sites; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D004260:DNA Repair; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry*; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
D006657:Histones; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D009707:Nucleosomes; D004247:DNA