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Left-handed DNA helices

Nature volume 283, pages 743–745 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

The synthetic DNA polymer poly d(GC) · poly d(GC) has been studied by X-ray diffraction of orientated fibres in which it has either the well known (A or B) right-handed conformations or a new left-handed helical conformation. Similar left-handed conformations have been observed with poly d(AC) · poly d(GT) and with poly d(As4T) · poly d(As4T), demonstrating that the novel structure is accessible to any DNA segment with an alternating purine–pyrimidine base sequence.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. A. G. W. Leslie

    Present address: Biophysical Section, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2BZ, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907

    Struther Arnott, Rengaswami Chandrasekaran, D. L. Birdsall, A. G. W. Leslie & R. L. Ratliff

  2. University of California, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, PO Box 1663, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87544

    R. L. Ratliff

Authors
  1. Struther Arnott
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  2. Rengaswami Chandrasekaran
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  3. D. L. Birdsall
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  4. A. G. W. Leslie
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  5. R. L. Ratliff
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Arnott, S., Chandrasekaran, R., Birdsall, D. et al. Left-handed DNA helices. Nature 283, 743–745 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283743a0

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