A crystallographic map of the transition from B-DNA to A-DNA.
Vargason, J.M., Henderson, K., Ho, P.S.(2001) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98: 7265-7270
- PubMed: 11390969 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.121176898
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1IH1, 1IH2, 1IH3, 1IH4, 1IH6 - PubMed Abstract: 
The transition between B- and A-DNA was first observed nearly 50 years ago. We have now mapped this transformation through a set of single-crystal structures of the sequence d(GGCGCC)2, with various intermediates being trapped by methylating or brominating the cytosine bases. The resulting pathway progresses through 13 conformational steps, with a composite structure that pairs A-nucleotides with complementary B-nucleotides serving as a distinct transition intermediate. The details of each step in the conversion of B- to A-DNA are thus revealed at the atomic level, placing intermediates for this and other sequences in the context of a common pathway.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, ALS 2011, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.