A zinc finger is part of a protein that can bind to DNA. Zinc finger domains typically consist of two β sheets, each carrying a cysteine residue, and an α helix carrying two histidine residues. The cysteine and histidine residues bind a zinc atom.
Many transcription factors (such as Zif268), regulatory proteins, and other proteins that interact with DNA, all contain zinc fingers.
These proteins possess amino acid sequences that combine with a zinc ion. They typically interact with the major and minor grooves along the double helix of DNA.
See also