Question

Suppose you are a research assistant in a lab studying DNADNA-binding proteins. You have been given the amino acid sequences of all the proteins encoded by the genome of a certain species and have been asked to find candidate proteins that could bind DNADNA. What type of amino acids would you expect to see in the DNADNA-binding regions of such proteins

Answer 1

The correct answer would be - Positively charged amino acid at pH 7 such as lysine, arginine, and histidine.

Step-by-step explanation:

We know that DNA is a negatively charged molecule and proteins bind with them. This binding takes place between negative DNA molecules and positively charged amino acids of DNA binding protein.

Amino acids form hydrogen bonds with the nitrogen bases or phosphate groups of the DNA. Therefore, the DNA binding amino acid sequence should be of positively charged amino acids like lysine, arginine, and histidine at pH 7.