DNA Conformation and Energy in Nucleosome Core: A Theoretical Approach
Davood Norouzi and Farshid Mohammad-Rafiee [1]
Molecular Tour
DNA in eukaryotes is packaged into nucleosomes by wrapping around positively charged histone proteins. , in which the around the core particle of histone proteins. The complex of DNA and histone proteins is ubiquitous in eukaryotic nuclei and has a major role in many essential life processes. Recent experiments revealed a lot of information about the structure and positioning of nucleosomes along the genome.
DNA conformation in complex with proteins is far from its canonical B-form. The affinity of complex formation and structure of DNA depend on its attachment configuration and sequence. In this article, we develop a mechanical model to address the problem of DNA structure and energy under deformation. The structure and energy of nucleosomal DNA is calculated based on its sequence and positioning state. The (NCP147 sequence based on PDB data is in yellow and our inferred structure is in red; , you can see also ). The superposition of small fragments of DNA structure from PDB data (yellow) and our predicted structure (red) . The two structures demonstrate very good similarity when deformations in DNA bases are smooth ().
Although there is no sequence-specific interaction of bases and the histone core, we found considerable sequence dependency for the nucleosomal DNA positioning. We argue that structural energy determines the natural state of nucleosomal DNA and is the main reason for affinity differences in vitro. This theory can be utilized for the DNA structure and energy determination in protein-DNA complexes in general.
