Cis Watson-Crick/Watson-Crick Base Pairs in DNA: A Density Functional Theory(DFT) Study

The four nucleic acid DNA bases(adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine) and ten cis Watson-Crick/Watson-Crick(cis WC/WC) DNA base pairs were investigated by density functional theory(DFT) quantum chemical calculations. Geometry optimizations were carried out on the four bases and ten base pairs at the B3LYP level with 6-31G~(**) basis set. All the optimizations were performed within Cs symmetry. The optimum structures for the four bases and seven cis WC/WC base pairs were obtained, and Natural Bond Orbital analysis(NBO) was based on these structures. The possibilities of matches between any two of the four bases through their Watson-Crick(WC) edges were discussed. The structures of seven cis WC/WC base pairs change to a certain extent relative to these of the four bases due to the formation of hydrogen bonds. These base pairs existing in DNA have an important influence on the structural stability of the double helix. The analysis of the electronic structures and molecular orbitals for seven cis WC/WC base pairs can provide significant information about the relationship between charge transfer along the hydrogen bond and the Frontier orbitals of these base pairs.     

Accurate interaction energies of hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pairs

Hydrogen-bonded nucleic acids base pairs substantially contribute to the structure and stability of nucleic acids. The study presents reference ab initio structures and interaction energies of selected base pairs with binding energies ranging from -5 to -47 kcal/mol. The molecular structures are obtained using the RI-MP2 (resolution of identity MP2) method with extended cc-pVTZ basis set of atomic orbitals. The RI-MP2 method provides results essentially identical with the standard MP2 method. The interaction energies are calculated using the Complete Basis Set (CBS) extrapolation at the RI-MP2 level. For some base pairs, Coupled-Cluster corrections with inclusion of noniterative triple contributions (CCSD(T)) are given. The calculations are compared with selected medium quality methods. The PW91 DFT functional with the 6-31G basis set matches well the RI-MP2/CBS absolute interaction energies and reproduces the relative values of base pairing energies with a maximum relative error of 2.6 kcal/mol when applied with Becke3LYP-optimized geometries. The Becke3LYP DFT functional underestimates the interaction energies by few kcal/mol with relative error of 2.2 kcal/mol. Very good performance of nonpolarizable Cornell et al. force field is confirmed and this indirectly supports the view that H-bonded base pairs are primarily stabilized by electrostatic interactions.     

Hydration and stability of nucleic acid bases and base pairs

Empirical, quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations of the role of a solvent on tautomerism of nucleic acid bases and structure and properties of nucleic acid base pairs are summarized. Attention was paid to microhydrated (by one and two water molecules) complexes, for which structures found by scanning of empirical potential surfaces were recalculated at a correlated ab initio level. Additionally, isolated as well as mono- and dihydrated H-bonded, T-shaped and stacked structures of all possible nucleic acid base pairs were studied at the same theoretical levels. We demonstrate the strong influence of a solvent on the tautomeric equilibrium between the tautomers of bases and on the spatial arrangement of the bases in a base pair. The results provide clear evidence that the prevalence of either the stacked or hydrogen-bonded structures of the base pairs in the solvent is not determined only by its bulk properties, but rather by specific hydrophilic interactions of the base pair with a small number of solvent molecules.     

Electronic Structures and Spectra of the Bases and Base Pairs of Nucleic Acids

The present paper covers electronic structures and spectra of the bases and the base pairs of nucleic acids calculated by using the INDO/S method. For free bases we give the energy levels of ground states and transition energies of low-lying excited states and discuss the band characters. The results indicate that the calculated spectra are in good agreement with experimental values. On the other hand, our calculations for A-T and G-C pairs are very beneficial to understanding hydrogen bond properties of these pairs.     

复合物Ca+-RNA碱基的结构与稳定性

Gas-phase metal ion affinities and optimized structures of RNA nucleic acid bases for the Ca+ were determined at a density functional level employing the hybrid B3LYP exchange correlation potential in connection with the 6-311+G(2df,2p) basis set. All the molecular complexes, obtained by the interaction between several low-lying tautomers of RNA nucleic acid and Ca+ on the different binding sites, were considered. For Cytosine, the most stable complex was obtained starting from the most stable tautomer of the free nucleic acid base tautomers. As to thymine, the bond energy of the ion with the most stable tautomer of the free nucleic acid base is the weakest among the three tautomer’s complexes, and that of the ion with least stable tautomer of the free nucleic acid base is the strongest . Uracil is similar to thymine. The two kinds of relation, bond energy and total energy for the complex, are in disagreement, as the metal affinities of RNA bases for the Ca+ depend on binding sites, and total energy of complex (Ca+-RNA base) relies on all atoms and their relative positions in the complex.     

A scheme for the economical use of numerical basis sets in calculations with SIESTA

We demonstrate the effectiveness of an economical scheme that uses numerical basis sets in computations with SIESTA. The economical basis sets demonstrated, in which high-level double-zeta basis plus polarization orbitals (DZP) are applied only for atoms of strong electronegativity and metal atoms while a double-zeta basis is applied to the rest of the atoms of small proton-bound carboxylic acid clusters and sodium–organic compounds, predict correct geometric structures very close to those obtained using DZP for all atoms. The use of economical basis sets can save about 30–50% of the CPU time that is used for calculations with large basis sets. This study provides a general guideline for basis set selection in SIESTA computations of large systems.Acknowledgement. The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (project no. CityU 1033/00P).     

Monte Carlo study of three-dimensional organization of water molecules around DNA fragments

Interactions with water molecules are important for the stabilization of three-dimensional structures of nucleic acids and for their functioning. The first hydration shells of macromolecules can be considered as structural parts of nucleic acid. We performed a Monte Carlo study of systems containing a nucleic acid base or base pair with water molecules using improved potential functions. These potential functions enable experimental data on both single base–single water interaction energies and enthalpies of base hydration to be reproduced. Hydration shell structures of base pairs are dependent on the pair geometry. Structural elements of hydration shells can contribute to the pair stability and hence to the probability of mispair formation during nucleic acid biosynthesis. The distribution of water molecules around bases and base pairs is essentially nonhomogeneous.From the Proceedings of the 28th Congreso de Químicos Teóricos de Expresión Latina (QUITEL 2002).     

Caffeine interactions with nucleic acids. Molecular mechanics calculations of model systems for explanation of mechanisms of biological actions

To understand the molecular mechanisms of the influence of caffeine (CAF) on DNA functioning, molecular mechanics calculations of the interaction energy of CAF with nucleic acid bases and base pairs have been performed. The calculations reveal three types of mutual CAF–base (and CAF–base pair) arrangements corresponding to minima of the interaction energy. Besides well-known stacking mutual positions of the molecules, two other types of arrangements are revealed and studied. One of these arrangements corresponds to the nearly in-plane position of CAF and base (or base pair) and the formation of a single hydrogen bond. Another type of minimum corresponds to nearly perpendicular arrangements of the molecular planes and the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. These two arrangements are possible both for individual nucleic acid monomers and for DNA duplexes. The calculations suggest the molecular mechanisms of the influence of CAF on DNA interactions with other biologically active molecules.From the Proceedings of the 28th Congreso de Químicos Teóricos de Expresión Latina (QUITEL 20002).     

精氨酸侧链和核酸碱基间离子氢键作用强度分析

采用MP2/6-31+G(d,p)方法优化得到了22个由精氨酸侧链与碱基尿嘧啶、 胸腺嘧啶、 胞嘧啶、 鸟嘌呤及腺嘌呤形成的氢键复合物的气相稳定结构, 使用包含BSSE校正的MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ方法计算得到了复合物的气相结合能, 通过MP2/6-31+G(d,p)方法和PCM模型优化得到了复合物的水相稳定结构, 采用MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ方法和PCM模型计算得到了复合物的水相结合能. 研究发现, 精氨酸侧链与碱基间的离子氢键作用强度与单体间电荷转移量、 氢键临界点电子密度及二阶作用稳定化能密切相关. 与中性氢键相比, 离子氢键作用具有更显著的共价作用成分. 研究还发现, 精氨酸侧链和碱基间形成的氢键复合物的稳定性次序可以通过氢键受体碱基分子上氧原子和氮原子的质子化反应焓变进行预测, 质子化反应焓变越负, 形成的氢键复合物越稳定.     

A density functional theory study for the hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pair: cytosine dimer

Theoretical investigation for the geometric and energetic properties, rotational constants, harmonic vibrational frequencies, and binding energies of nucleic acid base pair, cytosine dimer, are carried out by using the density functional theory method. The dimer structures resulting from both the keto and the enol (cis/trans) tautomers are investigated in the present study. Various isomers are considered to find the stable structures of the cytosine dimer. The planar cytosine dimer, K-K3 with C2h symmetry, resulting from nonplanar keto tautomers, is found to be thermodynamically most stable out of the four different stable isomers and having the highest binding energy value, 19.51 kcal/mol (including basis set superposition error correction). The vibrational frequency analysis also suggests a red shift of 367.97 cm(-1) for the hydrogen-bonding K-K3 symmetric dimer with two hydrogen bond lengths, each of length 1.913 angstroms. Moreover, charge distribution (ChelpG charges), Laplacian electronic density distribution, and the dimerization equilibrium for the most stable dimer, K-K3, have also been investigated using the same method and the basis set.     

Hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pairs containing unusual base tautomers: complete basis set calculations at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels

The total interaction energies of altogether 15 hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pairs containing unusual base tautomers were calculated. The geometry properties of all selected adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine hydrogen-bonded base pairs enable their incorporation into DNA. Unusual base pairing patterns were compared with Watson-Crick H-bonded structures of the adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine pairs. The complete basis set (CBS) limit of the MP2 interaction energy and the CCSD(T) correction term, determined as the difference between the CCSD(T) and MP2 interaction energies, was evaluated. Extrapolation to the MP2 CBS limit was done using the aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ results, and the CCSD(T) correction term was determined with the 6-31G*(0.25) basis set. Final interaction energies were corrected while taking into account both tautomeric penalization determined at the CBS level and solvation/desolvation free energies. The situation for the adenine-thymine pairs is straightforward, and tautomeric pairs are significantly less stable than the Watson-Crick pair consisting of the canonical forms. In the case of the guanine-cytosine pair, the Watson-Crick structure made by canonical forms is again the most stable. The other two structures are, however, energetically rather similar (by 5 and 6 kcal/mol), which provides a very small but non-negligible chance of detecting these structures in the DNA double helix (1:5000). Due to the fact that DNA bases and base pairs incorporated into DNA are solvated less favorably than in isolated systems, this probability represents the very upper limit. The results clearly show how precisely the canonical building blocks of DNA molecules were chosen and how well their stability is maintained.     

Estimation on the individual hydrogen-bond strength in molecules with multiple hydrogen bonds

A simple atom-replacement approach is proposed for estimating the individual contributions of each intermolecular hydrogen bond (HB) in multiple hydrogen-bonded systems. The approach is validated by calculations on the homodimer of formylformamide and then applied to nucleic acid base pairs (adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine) and some quadruply hydrogen-bonded dimers. With the help of this method, it is easy to distinguish the relative strength of each HB, and identify the main factors contributing to the total binding energies of multiple HBs.     

Structural and electronic property changes of the nucleic acid bases upon base pair formation

A systematic study of structures and electronic properties has been carried out for the nucleic acid bases adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine and for the base pairs adenine–thymine and guanine–cytosine. We focus our attention on these properties, which experience significant changes when single nucleic bases join to form base pairs. Such properties are expected to play an important role during the formation of the DNA molecule in its B conformation. All-electron calculations with inclusion of correlation effects were performed according to the local and nonlocal density functional approaches. We compare our results with previous ab initio and semiempirical values and with available experimental data. Advantages and disadvantages for these density functional-based methods are discussed. We conclude that applications of such models to investigate larger compounds of a similar nature are promising. © 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Potential energy surfaces of the microhydrated guanine...cytosine base pair and its methylated analogue.

A complete scan of the potential and free-energy surfaces of monohydrated and dihydrated guanine...cytosine and 9-methylguanine...1-methylcytosine base pairs was realized by the molecular dynamics/quenching technique using the force field of Cornell et al. implemented in the AMBER7 program. The most stable and populated structures localized were further fully reoptimized at the correlated ab initio level employing the resolution of identity M?ller-Plesset method with a large basis set. A systematic study of microhydration of these systems using a high-level correlated ab initio approach is presented for the first time. The different behavior of guanine...cytosine and adenine...thymine complexes is also discussed. These studies of nucleic acid base pairs are important for finding binding sites of water molecules around bases and for better understanding of the influence of the solvent on the stability of the structure of DNA.     

The Readout of Base‐Pair Information in Adenine–Thymine α‐D‐Arabinonucleosides

Structurally modified nucleosides are central players in the field of nucleic acid chemistry. Adenine–thymine (AT) pyrimido[4,5‐d]pyrimidine furanosyl and pyranosyl arabinonucleosides have been synthesized for the first time. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals novel base pairs that, in synergy with the sugar residues, direct the emergence of distinct networks containing channels and cavities. The microscopic noncovalent connections can be translated into macroscopic levels in which robust organogels are formed by the furanoside but not the pyranoside. The influences of the sugars are also displayed by the different shaped superstructures of the free nucleosides in solution. The readout of the information in the base moiety is therefore tailored by the sugar configuration, and the interplays exert subtle effects on the structures, from solid to gel and to the solution state. The potential for forming these appealing base pairs and higher structures enables these intriguing nucleosides to serve as unique building blocks in various areas or to construct innovative nucleic acid structures.     

Ligands of low electronegativity in the VSEPR model: The structures of singlet carbenes

Equilibrium structures and force constants for skeletal bending from linearity have been calculated, in the MNDO approximation, for twenty five singlet carbenes CX₂. When the substituent X bears neither vacant orbitals nor lone pairs, the force constant becomes steadily more negative as the electronegativity of X increases; when X bears vacant orbitals, the C→ X π bond order and the force constant both increase with the electronegativity of X. When X bears lone pairs, the force constant parallels the HOMO—LUMO gap at linearity. Previous discussions of the structures of singlet carbenes are shown to be inadequate: the reported results support the interpretation in terms of the second-order Jahn-Teller effect of the observed stereochemical inactivity of lone pairs in the presence of ligands of low electronegativity.     

Infrared Multiple Photon Dissociation Action Spectroscopy and Theoretical Studies of Diethyl Phosphate Complexes: Effects of Protonation and Sodium Cationization on Structure

The gas-phase structures of deprotonated, protonated, and sodium-cationized complexes of diethyl phosphate (DEP) including [DEP − H]⁻, [DEP + H]⁺, [DEP + Na]⁺, and [DEP − H + 2Na]⁺ are examined via infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) action spectroscopy using tunable IR radiation generated by a free electron laser, a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source, and theoretical electronic structure calculations. Measured IRMPD spectra are compared to linear IR spectra calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory to identify the structures accessed in the experimental studies. For comparison, theoretical studies of neutral complexes are also performed. These experiments and calculations suggest that specific geometric changes occur upon the binding of protons and/or sodium cations, including changes correlating to nucleic acid backbone geometry, specifically P–O bond lengths and ∠OPO bond angles. Information from these observations may be used to gain insight into the structures of more complex systems, such as nucleotides and solvated nucleic acids.     

Semi-empirical molecular orbital methods including dispersion corrections for the accurate prediction of the full range of intermolecular interactions in biomolecules

Semi-empirical calculations including an empirical dispersive correction are used to calculate intermolecular interaction energies and structures for a large database containing 156 biologically relevant molecules (hydrogen-bonded DNA base pairs, interstrand base pairs, stacked base pairs and amino acid base pairs) for which MP2 and CCSD(T) complete basis set (CBS) limit estimates of the interaction energies are available. The dispersion corrected semi-empirical methods are parameterised against a small training set of 22 complexes having a range of biologically important non-covalent interactions. For the full molecule set (156 complexes), compared to the high-level ab initio database, the mean unsigned errors of the interaction energies at the corrected semi-empirical level are 1.1 (AM1-D) and 1.2 (PM3-D) kcal mol(-1), being a significant improvement over existing AM1 and PM3 methods (8.6 and 8.2 kcal mol(-1)). Importantly, the new semi-empirical methods are capable of describing the diverse range of biological interactions, most notably stacking interactions, which are poorly described by both current AM1 and PM3 methods and by many DFT functionals. The new methods require no more computer time than existing semi-empirical methods and therefore represent an important advance in the study of important biological interactions.     

Computation of large systems with an economic basis set: systems in excited states

An economic basis set for ab initio calculations of systems in excited states has been studied. The economic basis set, in which the polarization functions are applied only to oxygen (O), while the 6-31G basis set is used for carbon (C) and hydrogen (H), is shown to save considerable computing time and to give reliable geometric and frequency measurements. In addition, the economic basis set has been considered for obtaining reliable excitation energies, with the correction factor, using high-level single-point energy calculations. This study is expected to shed light on basis set selection for computations of large systems in excited states.