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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1980 Jul;77(7):4016–4020. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.7.4016

The tetramer d(CpGpCpG) crystallizes as a left-handed double helix.

J L Crawford, F J Kolpak, A H Wang, G J Quigley, J H van Boom, G van der Marel, A Rich
PMCID: PMC349759  PMID: 6933447

Abstract

The structure of the tetramer d(CpGpCpG) has been solved by x-ray analysis in two different crystal forms with and without spermine cations. The molecules crystallize in hexagonal unit cells and they form a left-handed double helix of Z-DNA similar to that previously reported for the hexamer d(CpGpCpGpCpG). In the crystal lattice the molecules stack together to form a virtually continuous left-handed double helix in which every fourth phosphate group is missing. The stacking of bases upon each other is similar to that seen in the hexamer. However, the base pairs have a slightly different orientation in that the cytosine residues are slightly removed from the axis of the molecule compared to the position they occupy in the hexamer. The structures are similar in two crystal forms with and without spermine cations.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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