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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 277, Issue 2, 1614-1618, January 11, 2002

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Influence of DNA Sequence on the Positioning of RecA Monomers in RecA-DNA Cofilaments^*

Alexander A. Volodin^§ and R. Daniel Camerini-Otero^¶

From the  Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kurchatov sq., 123182 Moscow, Russia and the ^¶ Genetics and Biochemistry Branch, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1810

We show that certain DNA sequences have the ability to influence the positioning of RecA monomers in RecA-DNA complexes. A tendency for RecA monomers to be phased was observed in RecA protein complexes with several oligonucleotides containing a recombinational hotspot sequence, the chi-site from Escherichia coli. This influence was observed in both the 5' to 3' and 3' to 5' directions with respect to chi. A 5'-end phosphate group and probably some other features in DNA also influence the phasing of RecA monomers. We conclude that natural DNAs contain a number of features that influence the positioning of RecA monomers. The ability of specific DNA sequences to influence the positioning of RecA monomers demonstrates some specificity in the binding of individual bases at different sites within a RecA monomer and, most likely, reflects the stereochemical non-equivalence of these sites. The possible biological implications of the phasing of RecA monomers in presynaptic DNA-protein cofilaments are discussed.

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