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Application of Anomalous Diffraction Methods to the Study of DNA and DNA-Complexes

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Drug-DNA Interaction Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 613))

Abstract

Anomalous scattering is commonly used to solve X-ray structures. As discussed here, anomalous scattering is also useful for characterizing complex systems with mixed and partial occupancies, where true electron density is represented by unresolvable ensemble averages. The solvent environment surrounding nucleic acids is an example of such a system, as are some DNA-ligand systems. The atomic number and wavelength dependencies of anomalous scattering allow one to filter out the electron densities of C, N, and O, and to cleanly visualize the electron densities of heavier atoms. Therefore, anomalous scattering can make beacons of selected atoms. In addition, anomalous scattering provides a model-independent method for determining atomic identities. Here, we describe applications of anomalous scattering to the structure determination of DNA-platinum complexes and in cation associations of free DNA, of DNA-anthracycline complexes, of chemically modified DNA, and of DNA-protein complexes. The utility of Rb+ and Tl+ as K+ substitutes is supported by similarities in Rb+ and Tl+ association with DNA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Derrick Watkins, Tinoush Moulaei, Seiji Komeda & Loren Dean Williams

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  1. Derrick Watkins
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  2. Tinoush Moulaei
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  3. Seiji Komeda
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  4. Loren Dean Williams
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Correspondence to Loren Dean Williams .

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  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom

    Keith R. Fox

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Watkins, D., Moulaei, T., Komeda, S., Williams, L.D. (2010). Application of Anomalous Diffraction Methods to the Study of DNA and DNA-Complexes. In: Fox, K. (eds) Drug-DNA Interaction Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 613. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-418-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-418-0_9

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