1932

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms by which genetic information is replicated is important both to basic knowledge of biological organisms and to many useful applications in biomedical research and biotechnology. One of the main functions of a DNA polymerase enzyme is to help DNA recognize itself with high specificity when a strand is being copied. Recent studies have shed new light on the question of what physical forces cause a polymerase enzyme to insert a nucleotide into a strand of DNA and to choose the correct nucleotide over the incorrect ones. This is discussed in the light of three main forces that govern DNA recognition: base stacking, Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding, and steric interactions. These factors are studied with natural and structurally altered DNA nucleosides.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.biophys.30.1.1
2001-06-01
2024-03-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.biophys.30.1.1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.biophys.30.1.1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error