The unusual conformation adopted by the adenine tracts in kinetoplast DNA.

To determine the structural features responsible for the curvature of kinetoplast DNA, we studied 13 adenine tracts in Crithidia fasciculata kinetoplast DNA. The structures of the A tracts were analyzed by cutting the DNA with hydroxyl radical. Reactivity of hydroxyl radical toward the DNA backbone progressively decreased in the 5'----3' direction of each A tract. The cutting pattern of the T-rich strand was offset by 1 or 2 bp from the pattern on the A-rich strand. An A tract in a restriction fragment from plasmid pBR322 had the same cutting pattern as the kinetoplast A tracts. We interpret these experiments to show that in A tracts the width of the minor groove decreases smoothly from the 5'----3' end of the A tract.