NMR scalar couplings across Watson-Crick base pair hydrogen bonds in DNA observed by transverse relaxation-optimized spectroscopy

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Nov 24;95(24):14147-51. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.24.14147.

Abstract

This paper describes the NMR observation of 15N---15N and 1H---15N scalar couplings across the hydrogen bonds in Watson-Crick base pairs in a DNA duplex, hJNN and hJHN. These couplings represent new parameters of interest for both structural studies of DNA and theoretical investigations into the nature of the hydrogen bonds. Two dimensional [15N,1H]-transverse relaxation-optimized spectroscopy (TROSY) with a 15N-labeled 14-mer DNA duplex was used to measure hJNN, which is in the range 6-7 Hz, and the two-dimensional hJNN-correlation-[15N,1H]-TROSY experiment was used to correlate the chemical shifts of pairs of hydrogen bond-related 15N spins and to observe, for the first time, hJHN scalar couplings, with values in the range 2-3.6 Hz. TROSY-based studies of scalar couplings across hydrogen bonds should be applicable for large molecular sizes, including protein-bound nucleic acids.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Base Pairing
  • Base Sequence
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular / methods
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation*
  • Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / chemistry*

Substances

  • Oligodeoxyribonucleotides
  • DNA