Principles of Nucleic Acid Structure

Front Matter....Pages i-xx
Why Study Nucleotide and Nucleic Acid Structure?....Pages 1-8
Defining Terms for the Nucleic Acids....Pages 9-28
Methods: X-Ray Crystallography, Potential Energy Calculations, and Spectroscopy....Pages 29-50
Structures and Conformational Properties of Bases, Furanose Sugars, and Phosphate Groups....Pages 51-104
Physical Properties of Nucleotides: Charge Densities, p K Values, Spectra, and Tautomerism....Pages 105-115
Forces Stabilizing Associations Between Bases: Hydrogen Bonding and Base Stacking....Pages 116-158
Modified Nucleosides and Nucleotides; Nucleoside Di- and Triphosphates; Coenzymes and Antibiotics....Pages 159-200
Metal Ion Binding to Nucleic Acids....Pages 201-219
Polymorphism of DNA versus Structural Conservatism of RNA: Classification of A-, B-, and Z-TYPe Double Helices....Pages 220-241
RNA Structure....Pages 242-252
DNA Structure....Pages 253-282
Left-Handed, Complementary Double Helices—A Heresy? The Z-DNA Family....Pages 283-297
Synthetic, Homopolymer Nucleic Acids Structures....Pages 298-320
Hypotheses and Speculations: Side-by-Side Model, Kinky DNA, and “Vertical” Double Helix....Pages 321-330
tRNA—A Treasury of Stereochemical Information....Pages 331-349
Intercalation....Pages 350-367
Water and Nucleic Acids....Pages 368-384
Protein—Nucleic Acid Interactions....Pages 385-431
Higher Organization of DNA....Pages 432-458
Back Matter....Pages 459-556