Crystallization of Z-DNA in Complex with Chemical and Z-DNA Binding Z-Alpha Protein

The molecular basis of Z-DNA recognition and stabilization is mostly discovered via X-ray crystallography. The sequences composed with alteration of purine and pyrimidine are known to adopt Z-DNA conformation. Due to the energy penalty for forming Z-DNA, the small molecular stabilizer or Z-DNA-specific binding protein is required for DNA to adopt Z conformation prior to crystallizing Z-DNA. Here we described the methods ranging from preparation of DNA and Z-alpha protein to crystallization of Z-DNA in detail.