The carbohydrate domain of calicheamicin gamma I1 determines its sequence specificity for DNA cleavage.

We have investigated the DNA cleaving properties of calicheamicinone, the synthetic core aglycone of calicheamicin gamma I1, a natural product with extremely potent antitumor activity. Our experiments have shown that the synthetic analog binds and cleaves DNA, albeit without any sequence selectivity and with less efficiency than the natural compound. We propose that a key element in the sequence recognition process is the thiobenzoate ring present in the natural compound. We have demonstrated by one-dimensional NMR that there is direct hydrogen abstraction from DNA by calicheamicinone, with enhanced binding affinity contributed by the carbohydrate domain. The reduced efficiency of hydrogen abstraction from DNA by bound calicheamicinone, compared with the natural compound, implicates the carbohydrate moiety in positioning the drug for hydrogen abstraction.

Helical repeat and chirality effects on DNA gel electrophoretic mobility.

We determined a value of 10.34 +/- 0.04 base pairs (bp) per turn for the helical repeat of bent DNA sequences of the form A6N4-A6N5 by estimating the sequence repeat required to produce a planar curve, as judged from the maximum in the electrophoretic mobility anomaly of multimers containing different sequence repeats (10.00, 10.33, 10.50, 10.67, and 11.00 bp per turn). This result provides the basis for a method to evaluate the helical repeat of any DNA segment by comparative electrophoresis measurements. The sequence of interest is placed between two A-tract bends and the phasing is varied over an entire helical turn. Knowledge of the number of base pairs between the bends in the cis isomer, which has the lowest electrophoretic mobility, allows calculation of the average helical repeat of the inserted sequence. In the course of these experiments we observed an unexpected dependence of electrophoretic mobility on the shape of DNA molecules: in high-percentage polyacrylamide gels, those bent molecules for which we deduced a right-handed superhelical form are less retarded than their homologous left-handed isomers. To explain this finding we propose that superhelical chirality influences the choice of DNA migration pathway, leading to rotation of the DNA molecule relative to the local coordinate frame in the gel. High-percentage gels have sufficiently close contact with the right-handed DNA helical twist to differentiate the frictional consequences of right- and left-handed twisting motions.

Determination of the extent of DNA bending by an adenine-thymine tract.

We determined the magnitude of the bend induced in DNA by an adenine-thymine tract by measuring the rate of cyclization of DNA oligonucleotides containing phased A tracts. A series of linear multimers with 2-bp single-stranded ends, in which the (A.T)6 tracts are separated by CG2-3C sequences and are positioned 10 and 11 bp apart alternately, were prepared from 21 bp long synthetic duplexed deoxyoligonucleotides. The cyclization rates of the multimers (105-210 bp) and the bimolecular association rate of the 84 bp long multimer were measured in the presence of DNA ligase. From the rate constants of the cyclization and bimolecular association reactions, ring closure probabilities were obtained for the multimers. The systematically bent molecules were simulated by Monte Carlo methods, and the ring closure probabilities were calculated for a given set of junction bend angles. By comparing the calculated values of ring closure probabilities to experimental values and adjusting the junction bend angles to fit experimental values, the extent of bending at the junctions (or the extent of bending for an adenine tract) was determined. We conclude that an A6 tract bends the DNA helix by 17-21 degrees.

The capsid of small papova viruses contains 72 pentameric capsomeres: direct evidence from cryo-electron-microscopy of simian virus 40.

The three-dimensional structure of the simian virus 40 capsid is remarkably similar to the structure of the polyoma empty capsid. This similarity is apparent despite striking differences in the methods used to determine the two structures: image analysis of electron micrographs of frozen-hydrated samples (SV40 virions) and an unconventional x-ray crystallographic analysis (polyoma empty capsids). Both methods have clearly resolved the 72 prominent capsomere units which comprise the T = 7d icosahedral capsid surface lattice. The 12 pentavalent and 60 hexavalent capsomeres consist of pentameric substructures. A pentameric morphology for hexavalent capsomeres clearly shows that the conserved bonding specificity expected from the quasi-equivalence theory is not present in either SV40 or polyoma capsids. Determination of the SV40 structure from cryo-electron microscopy supports the correctness of the polyoma structure solved crystallographically and establishes a strong complementarity of the two techniques. Similarity between the SV40 virion and the empty polyoma capsid indicates that the capsid is not detectably altered by the loss of the nucleohistone core. The unexpected pentameric substructure of the hexavalent capsomeres and the arrangement of the 72 pentamers in the SV40 and polyoma capsid lattices may be characteristic features of all members of the papova virus family, including the papilloma viruses such as human wart and rabbit papilloma.

Reconstruction of the three-dimensional structure of simian virus 40 and visualization of the chromatin core.

The three-dimensional structure of the capsid and the nucleohistone core of simian virus 40 (SV40) has been reconstructed by image analysis of electron micrographs of frozen hydrated samples. The 72 prominent capsomere units that comprise the T = 7d icosahedral surface lattice of the capsid are clearly resolved. Both the pentavalent and hexavalent capsomeres appear with pentameric substructure, indicating that bonding specificity in the shell is not quasi-equivalent. There is a remarkable similarity between the structure of the SV40 virion capsid and the structure reported for the polyoma empty capsid. This result establishes that (i) the unexpected pentameric substructure of the hexavalent capsomeres is also present in virions and (ii) the arrangement of the 72 pentamers in the capsid lattice may be a characteristic feature of the entire papova family of viruses. The center of the SV40 reconstruction reveals electron density corresponding to the nucleohistone core. This density is smeared, suggesting that the minichromosome is not organized with icosahedral symmetry matching the capsid symmetry. The visualization of the virion chromatin provides a basis for invoking new models for the higher order structure of the encapsidated minichromosome.