Protein motifs that recognize structural features of DNA.

Many proteins have the ability to bind to a variety of DNA sequences, the recognition of which depends on some general rather than specific feature of the DNA. Some of the protein motifs that are responsible for this type of recognition have been identified in transcription factors and chromosomal proteins. These motifs consist of sequences capable of forming a structural framework in which positively charged residues can be arranged so that binding to a particular DNA structure is preferred.