Topics in Nucleic Acid Structure
Topics in Nucleic Acid Structure
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核酸结构专题
DOI：
10.1007/978-1-349-04691-1
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发表时间：
1981
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
S. Neidle
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
S. Neidle
人们越来越关注分子的三维构象，重点是具有生物学意义的大分子，如蛋白质和核酸，特别是酶与其底物和抑制剂之间、核酸与选定药物之间的三维空间相互作用等。这些研究不仅提供了基本的生物化学信息，但目前在设计更有效药物的尝试中获益。用于研究小分子和大分子空间构象的实验方法有X射线衍射（晶体和晶体）和核磁共振光谱。本小卷包括9个不同的专家的贡献，根据这些技术的使用。斯特拉瑟斯·阿诺特在第4章中有一段有用的（但太短了）离题的话，谈到了其他技术的相对优点，如圆二色性和红外线二色性。D. M. J. Lilley的贡献之一简要描述了中子衍射在真核染色质结构研究中的应用。读者将在本书中找到DNA和RNA片段的晶体和溶液构象的简明描述，特别是合成和天然的多核苷酸。最后两章描述了使用X射线衍射和NMR来阐明多核苷酸-药物复合物的固态和溶液构象，这是药物开发领域中相当感兴趣的一个领域。通过衍射和NMR获得的结果之间的比较可能不如期望的那样广泛，但这部分是由于寡核苷酸的NMR光谱数据的稀疏性。有些令人惊讶的是，没有任何关于多核苷酸纤维的高分辨率3 tP NMR结果的参考，其可以直接与相同纤维上的X射线衍射结果进行比较。整个卷的重点是所获得的结果，以及它们的解释，而不是所涉及的实验技术的细节。这无疑使分子生物学家更容易理解这些内容。海伦·伯尔曼（Helen Burman）在第一章中以可读的形式总结了用于描述寡核苷酸和多核苷酸构象参数的基本命名法;非专业人员必须回头参考这一章。. .这是我们所有人都必须为专业化速度的加快付出的代价之一，这种速度现在几乎影响了所有领域（但至少为那些对命名感兴趣的人提供了一个职业，通常不是一个简单的职业）。大多数数字都做得很好。这位评论家特别感兴趣的是第92页的tig. 5.4，显示了tRNAPhe晶体结构中的所有三级碱基对，碱基配对不同于沃森-克里克类型。注意到一个错误，即第3页图1.2（a），显示的是L-呋喃核糖而不是D-呋喃核糖，这显然是由于绘图员的疏忽。编辑在序言中说：“这是不可避免的，一本书的性质变得过时太快。. .’实际上，本书中的许多材料不会很快过时，而是会继续发展，这是很自然的。例如，虽然发表于1981年，但从内容的细读中可以清楚地看出，手稿实际上是在1979年提交的，因此两位撰稿人几乎没有机会提到与Z-DNA的发现有关的最初令人兴奋的事件，货车布恩，里奇和他们的合作者在1979年首次以晶体形式报道，现在有证据表明它存在于生物系统中。据推测，这一系列的后续预测卷将包括对这些和其他新进展的描述。
Increasing attention is being devoted to the three-dimensional conformation of molecules, with emphasis on macromolecules of biological interest such as proteins and nucleic acids and, especially, the interaction in three-dimensional space between enzymes and their substrates and inhibitors, between nucleic acids and selected drugs, etc. Such studies furnish not only fundamental biochemical information, but are currently profited from in attempts to design more effective drugs. The experimental methods of choice for delving into the spatial conformation of both small and large molecules are X-ray diffraction (of crystals and tibres) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The present small volume includes 9 contributions by various specialists, based on the use of these techniques. There is a useful (but all too short) digression in ch. 4, by Struthers Arnott, on the relative merits of other techniques, such as circular dichroism and infrared linear dichroism. One of the contributions, by D.M.J. Lilley, describes briefly the utility of neutron diffraction in studies on eukaryotic chromatin structure. The reader will find in this volume concise descriptions of the crystal and solution conformations of fragments of DNA and RNA and, in particular, of polynucleotides, both synthetic and natural. The final two chapters describe the use of Xray diffraction and NMR to elucidate the solid state and solution conformations of polynucleotide-drug complexes, an area of considerable interest in the field of drug development. The comparisons between results obtained by diffraction and NMR are perhaps not as extensive as might be desired, but this is due in part to the sparsity of data on NMR spectroscopy of oligonucleotides. Somewhat surprising is the absence of any reference to results on high resolution 3tP NMR of polynucleotide fibres, which can be directly compared with X-ray diffraction results on the same fibres. The emphasis throughout the volume is on the results obtained, and their interpretation, rather than on details of the experimental techniques involved. This undoubtedly renders the contents more accessible to the molecular biologist. Chapter 1, by Helen Burman, summarizes in readable form the basic nomenclature employed to describe the conformational parameters of oligoand polynucleotides; and the non-specialist will of necessity have to refer back to this chapter. . . one of the prices we must all pay for the accelerated rate of specialization that afflicts almost all fields now (but at least provides an occupation, usually not a simple one, for those interested in nomenclature). Most of the figures are very well done. Particularly interesting to this reviewer was tig.5.4 on p. 92, showing all the tertiary base pairs in the crystal structure of tRNAPhe, with base pairings different from the Watson-Crick type. One error was noted, viz. fig. 1.2 (a) on p. 3, showing Lribofuranose instead of D-ribofuranose, and obviously due to an oversight by the draughtsman. The Editor states in his preface that ‘It is inevitable that a book of this nature becomes dated all too quickly . . .’ actually a good deal of the material in this volume will not be rapidly outdated, but rather undergo further development, as is natural. For example, although published in 1981, it appears clear, from a perusal of the contents, that the manuscripts were actually submitted in 1979, so that two of the contributors had barely the opportunity to refer to the initial exciting events linked to the discovery of Z-DNA, first reported in the crystal form by van Boon, Rich and their collaborators in 1979, and for which there is now evidence of its existence in biological systems. Presumably subsequent projected volumes in this series will include accounts of these, and other, new advances.