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DNA-binding proteins are proteins that have DNA-binding domains and thus have a specific or general affinity for single- or double-stranded DNA. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins generally interact with the major groove of B-DNA , because it exposes more functional groups that identify a base pair .
For example, some proteins have parts of their surface that perfectly match the shape of another molecule, allowing the protein to bind to this molecule very tightly. Other proteins are enzymes, which are like tiny machines that alter other molecules. [7] The information in DNA is held in the sequence of the repeating units along the DNA chain. [8]
This is because the histone tail domains are involved in interactions between nucleosomes. The linker histone, or H1 protein, is also involved maintaining nucleosome structure. The H1 protein has the special role of ensuring that DNA stays tightly wound. [4] Modifications to histone proteins and their DNA are classified as quaternary structure.
Efforts to understand how proteins are encoded began after DNA's structure was discovered in 1953. The key discoverers, English biophysicist Francis Crick and American biologist James Watson, working together at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, hypothesied that information flows from DNA and that there is a link between DNA and proteins. [2]
These effects are referred to as epigenetic and involve the higher order structure of DNA, non-sequence specific DNA binding proteins and chemical modification of DNA. [61] In general epigenetic effects alter the accessibility of DNA to proteins and so modulate transcription. [62] In eukaryotes, DNA is organized in form of nucleosomes.
A distinct group of DNA-binding proteins is the DNA-binding proteins that specifically bind single-stranded DNA. In humans, replication protein A is the best-understood member of this family and is used in processes where the double helix is separated, including DNA replication, recombination, and DNA repair. [123] These binding proteins seem ...
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The eukaryotic DNA is organized in one or more linear molecules, called chromosomes, which are associated with histone proteins. All chromosomal DNA is stored in the cell nucleus, separated from the cytoplasm by a membrane. [2] Some eukaryotic organelles such as mitochondria also contain some DNA. Many eukaryotic cells are ciliated with primary ...