Experiment acknowledged the Watson-Crick hypothesis: a review of B-DNA double helix structural features at atomic resolution

The dodecamer d(CGCGAATTCGCG) forms a right-handed B-DNA double helix of a Watson-Crick type both in crystal and solution. It is the first piece of DNA longer than one helix turn whose molecular structure has become known at the atomic resolution. The article reviews qualitative aspects of its structure with a special emphasis on local variations in the disposition of base pairs in the double helix.