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1: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 Jul 3;92(14):6464-8.Click here to read Links

An A-DNA triplet code: thermodynamic rules for predicting A- and B-DNA.

Basham B, Schroth GP, Ho PS.

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331, USA.

The ability to predict macromolecular conformations from sequence and thermodynamic principles has long been coveted but generally has not been achieved. We show that differences in the hydration of DNA surfaces can be used to distinguish between sequences that form A- and B-DNA. From this, a "triplet code" of A-DNA propensities was derived as energetic rules for predicting A-DNA formation. This code correctly predicted > 90% of A- and B-DNA sequences in crystals and correlates with A-DNA formation in solution. Thus, with our previous studies on Z-DNA, we now have a single method to predict the relative stability of sequences in the three standard DNA duplex conformations.

PMID: 7604014 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC41538