A-DNA
A-DNA又稱A型DNA，為DNA雙螺旋的一種形式，擁有與較普遍的B-DNA相似的右旋結構，但其螺旋較短較緊密。A-DNA是三種具有生物活性的DNA雙螺旋結構，另兩種則為B-DNA及Z-DNA。一般只有脫水的DNA樣本中才會出現，可用來作晶體學實驗。此外當DNA與RNA混合配對時，也可能出現A-DNA形式的螺旋。
結構
A-DNA與B-DNA相似，有大小凹陷處之分。但其每一轉的螺旋中具有較多的鹼基對，因而產生較深的大凹陷處與較淺的小凹陷處。
A-DNA的預測
B-DNA具有轉變成為A-DNA的傾向，此種推測是由奧勒岡州立大學的Beth Basham、Gary Schroth與P. Shing Ho所發展[1]。
他們在摘要中如此形容：
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.[1]
參考文獻
- ^ 1.0 1.1 Basham B, Schroth GP, Ho PS. An A-DNA triplet code: thermodynamic rules for predicting A- and B-DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1995, 92 (14): 6464–6468. PMID 7604014.