A glossary of DNA structures from A to Z

Ghosh, Arindam and Bansal, M (2003) A glossary of DNA structures from A to Z. In: Acta Crystallographica Section D Biological Crystallography, 59 (4). pp. 620-626.

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Abstract

The right-handed double-helical Watson-Crick model for B-form DNA is the most commonly known DNA structure. In addition to this classic structure, several other forms of DNA have been observed and it is clear that the DNA molecule can assume different structures depending on the base sequence and environment. The various forms of DNA have been identified as A, B, C etc. In fact, a detailed inspection of the literature reveals that only the letters F, Q, U, V and Y are now available to describe any new DNA structure that may appear in the future. It is also apparent that it may be more relevant to talk about the A, B or C type dinucleotide steps, since several recent structures show mixtures of various different geometries and a careful analysis is essential before identifying it as a 'new structure'. This review provides a glossary of currently identified DNA structures and is quite timely as it outlines the present understanding of DNA structure exactly 50 years after the original discovery of DNA structure by Watson and Crick

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Acta Crystallographica Section D Biological Crystallography
Publisher:	International Union of Crystallography
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to International Union of Crystallography.
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Biophysics Unit Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2011 06:02
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2011 06:02
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/34540

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