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Extension of the four-stranded intercalated cytosine motif by adenine•adenine base pairing in the crystal structure of d(CCCAAT)

Nature Structural Biology volume 2, pages 416–425 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

The crystal structure of d(CCCAAT), refined at 2.0 Å resolution, shows a four stranded molecule in which two parallel duplexes intercalate with opposite polarity, using cytosine•protonated cytosine base pairs. The intercalation motif in this structure is extended by adenine•adenine base pairs. Two topologically distinct broad grooves are found in the lath-like central part of the molecule with the phosphate groups on one side bent over towards each other, stabilized by bridging water molecules. At the 3′ends, two arrangements of intermolecular A•A•T base triplets are found, involving both asymmetric and symmetric A•A base pairs joined to thymine residues by Watson-Crick and reverse Hoogsteen base pairing, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    Imre Berger, ChulHee Kang, April Fredian & Alexander Rich

  2. Department of Biophysical Chemistry, Hannover Medical School, 30623, Hannover, Germany

    Imre Berger

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, 99164-4660, USA

    ChulHee Kang

  4. Center for Human Genome Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratories, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545, USA

    Robert Ratliff & Robert Moyzis

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  1. Imre Berger
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  2. ChulHee Kang
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  4. Robert Ratliff
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  5. Robert Moyzis
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  6. Alexander Rich
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Berger, I., Kang, C., Fredian, A. et al. Extension of the four-stranded intercalated cytosine motif by adenine•adenine base pairing in the crystal structure of d(CCCAAT). Nat Struct Mol Biol 2, 416–425 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb0595-416

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