Location of spermine and other polyamines on DNA as revealed by photoaffinity cleavage with polyaminobenzenediazonium salts

Journal Article · Tue Apr 30 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · Biochemistry; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/bi00231a035· OSTI ID:5510674

Schmid, N; Behr, J P ^[1]

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1. CNRS, Strasbourg (France)

Although polyamines interact strongly with nucleic acids, X-ray and NMR studies have not revealed much structural information about spermine-DNA complexes. Therefore, it was of interest to look at the binding of polyamines to {sup 32}P-labeled DNA restriction fragments by sequencing gel electrophoresis of the photoaffinity cleavage products induced by polyaminobenzenediazonium salts. The shift of cleavage patterns observed on opposite strands as well as competition experiments with distamycin shows polyamines to be located in the minor groove of B-DNA and to depend on the nucleic acid polymorphism, jumping to the major groove in the A-form. The sequence selectivities of various polycations (spermine, putrescine, and cobalt(III) hexaammine) are similar and slightly favor A,T-rich regions. Taken together, these results show that polycations which are not point charges are guided by the electronegative potential along the nucleic acid and suggest fast crawling of the polyamine within the minor groove, due to individual NH{sub 2}{sup +} jumping between multiple equidistant and isoenergetic bidentate hydrogen-bonding sites. Such a picture could be the clue to the unexpected NMR and to the frequently silent X-ray behavior of polyamines when bound to DNA.

• OSTI ID: 5510674
• Journal Information: Biochemistry; (United States), Journal Name: Biochemistry; (United States) Vol. 30:17; ISSN 0006-2960; ISSN BICHA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550201* -- Biochemistry-- Tracer Techniques
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AMINES
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CATIONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COHERENT SCATTERING
CROSS-LINKING
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIFFRACTION
DNA
ELECTROPHORESIS
IONS
ISOTOPES
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
NUCLEI
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS 32
PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES
POLYMERIZATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RESONANCE
RFLPS
SCATTERING
SPERMINE
STRAND BREAKS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION