The dna double helix has some grooves which are major and minor grooves. The major groove occurs where the backbones are far apart, the minor groove occurs where they are close together. The grooves twist around the molecule on opposite sides. The structure of dna double helix and how it was discovered. In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by doublestranded. Pdf what drives proteins into the major or minor grooves of dna. In eukaryotes dna is organized into chromosomes, each of which is a single linear piece of dna.
The most common form of dna the b form where we know there i. Asymmetrical spacing of the backbones of the dna double helix generates major and minor grooves. Note that the grooves are actual structural features of the molecule, not consequences of the way it is drawn. The structure revealed extensive interactions between the tea domain and the dna duplex involving both the major and minor grooves of dna helix. How and why are major grooves and minor grooves in dna. The narrowness of the minor groove means that the edges of the bases are more accessible in the major groove.
In this crystal structure dataset, the proteins bind either the major or minor groove of their dna targets. They arise from the antiparallel arrangement of the two backbone strands. The strand backbones are closer together on one side of the helix than on the other. Understanding the sequencedependence of dna groove. The number of chromosomes is highly variable in different eukaryotes. The major groove occurs where the backbones are far apart, the minor groove. This dna structure lecture explains about major groove and minor groove. The major and minor grooves are opposite each other, and each runs continuously along the entire length of the dna molecule. With tenor, maker of gif keyboard, add popular dna double helix animation animated gifs to your conversations. Dnabinding mechanism of the hippo pathway transcription. As a result, proteins like transcription factors that can bind to specific sequences in doublestranded dna usually make contacts to the sides of the bases exposed in the major groove. This lecture explains the structure of dna major groove and minor groove ant the role of major groove and minor groove to bind with different proteins and water molecules. Proteins and other molecules that bind dna specifically recognize either the major or minor groove.