Abstract
Intrinsic bending of DNA molecules results from local structural polymorphism in regions of homopolymeric dA · dT which are at least 4 base pairs long; the A · T tracts must be repeated in phase with the helix screw. Bending, in the direction of base-pair tilt rather than roll, occurs at the junctions between the A · T tract and adjacent B-DNA, with a larger angle at the 3′ than at the 5′ end of the A tract.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Englund, P. T., Hajduk, S. L. & Marini, J. C. A. Rev. Biochem. 51, 695–726 (1982).
Marini, J. C., Levene, S. D., Crothers, D. M. & Englund, P. T. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79,7664–7668 (1982).
Levene, S. D. & Crothers, D. M. J. biomolec. Struct. Dyn. 1, 429–435 (1983).
Marini, J. C. et al. J. biol. Chem. 259, 8974–8979 (1984).
Ntambi, J. M. et al. Molec. Biochem. Parasit. 12, 273–286 (1984).
Wu, H. M. & Crothers, D. M. Nature 308, 509–513 (1984).
Hagerman, P. J. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 4632–4636 (1984).
Zahn, K. & Blattner, F. R. Nature 317, 451–453 (1985).
Lerman, L. S. & Frisch, H. L. Biopolymers 21, 995–997 (1982).
Lumpkin, O. J. & Zimm, B. H. Biopolymers 21, 2315–2316 (1982).
Peck, L. C. & Wang, J. C. Nature 292, 375–378 (1981).
Rhodes, D. & Klug, A. Nature 292, 378–380 (1981).
Strauss, F., Gaillard, C. & Prunell, A. Eur. J. Biochem. 118, 215–222 (1981).
Levene, S. D., Wu, H. M. & Crothers, D. M. Biochemistry. (in the press)
Selsing, E., Wells, R. D., Alden, C. J. & Arnott, S. J. biol. Chem. 254, 5417–5422 (1979).
Wu, H. M. thesis, Yale Univ. (1982).
Depew, R. E. & Wang, J. C. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72, 4275–4279 (1975).
Trifonov, E. N. & Sussman, J. L. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 3816–3820 (1980).
Trifonov, E. N. Nucleic Acids Res. 8, 4041–4053 (1980).
Drew, H. R. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. sci. U.S.A. 78 2179–2183 (1981).
Calladine, C. R. J.molec. Biol. 161, 343–352 (1982).
Dickerson, R. E. J.molec. Biol. 166 419–441 (1983).
Zhurkin, V. B., Lysov, Y. P. & Ivanov, V. I. Nucleic Acids Res. 6, 1081–1096 (1979).
Zhurkin, V. B. J. biomolec. Struct. Dyn. 2, 785–804 (1985).
Arnott, S., Chandrasekaran, R., Hall, I. H. & Puigjaner, L. C. Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 4141–4155 (1983).
Thomas, G. A. & Peticolas, W. L. J. Am. chem. Soc. 105, 993–996 (1983).
Jolles, B., Laigle, A., Chinsky, L. & Turpin, P. Y. Nucleic Acids Res. 13, 2075–2085 (1985).
Simpson, R. T. & Kunzler, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 6, 1387–1415 (1979).
Kunkel, G. R. & Martinson, H. G. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 6869–6888 (1981).
Edmondson, S. P. & Johnson, W. C. Jr Biopolymers 24, 825–841 (1985).
Reynolds, V. L., Molineux, I. J., Kaplan, D. J., Swenson, D. H. & Hurley, L. H. Biochemistry 24, 6228–6237 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Koo, HS., Wu, HM. & Crothers, D. DNA bending at adenine · thymine tracts. Nature 320, 501–506 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320501a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/320501a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Manipulating chromatin architecture in C. elegans
Epigenetics & Chromatin (2022)
-
CRISPR–Cas9 bends and twists DNA to read its sequence
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2022)
-
Deciphering the mechanical code of the genome and epigenome
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2022)
-
Some novel features of strong promoters discovered in Cytophaga hutchinsonii
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2022)
-
Divergence of VRN-B3 alleles during the evolution of domesticated wheat
Molecular Genetics and Genomics (2019)