Experimental and structural evidence that herpes 1 kinase and cellular DNA polymerase(s) discriminate on the basis of sugar pucker

Two isomers of methanocarba (MC) thymidine are used to determine whether kinases and polymerases discriminate between their substartes on the basis of sugar conformation. A combined solid-state and solution conformational analysis of both compounds, coupled with the direct measurement of mono suggests that kinases prefer substrates that adopt the S sugar conformation.