Contact specificity in protein–DNA complexes

In this work we investigated contacts between proteins and nucleic acids by Voronoi–Delaunay tessellation. About one third of all contacts are contacts between nucleotides and positively charged residues Arg and Lys, 32,3 %. Ser and Thr together take part in 15 % of contacts. Asn forms 6 % контактов, as well as Gly. Contribution of each other residue type does not exceed 5 %. Statistically significant are contacts Asp-G, Trp-C, Glu-C, Asp-C and His-T. General mechanism of charged residues participation in specific protein-DNA interactions is suggested.