Abstract
Rhodes and Klug1 have recently proposed that the internal control region of the Xenopus 5S RNA gene adopts an A-type DNA structure in solution. This suggestion was based on a Fourier analysis of both the spacing of DNase I cutting sites and on the distribution of G residues in the DNA sequence. Both revealed a ~5.6–5.7-base periodicity which the authors interpreted as a structural repeat every half helical turn of A-type DNA. This contention was strengthened by the finding that a 9-base-pair (bp) double-stranded deoxyoligonucleotide corresponding to residues +81 to +89 of the 5S gene exhibits an A′ RNA-like crystal structure2. This region of DNA is of special interest as it forms the binding site for the 5S gene-specific transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA)3. TFIIIA is a Zn2+-binding protein which interacts with both the internal control region of the gene and the 5S transcript4–6. As base-paired regions of RNA are of the A type2,7, it was reasonable to postulate that 5S DNA might also adopt this conformation1. We report here that the circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of a synthetic 54-bp deoxyoligonucleotide corresponding to the TFIIIA binding site is similar to the CD spectrum of B-form DNA in solution. Further, DNA–TFIIIA complexes show an unaltered DNA CD component indicating no gross alteration in DNA structure on protein binding.
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Gottesfeld, J., Blanco, J. & Tennant, L. The 5S gene internal control region is B-form both free in solution and in a complex with TFIIIA. Nature 329, 460–462 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/329460a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/329460a0
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