Theoretical investigation of hydrogen transfer mechanism in the adenine-thymine base pair

We have studied the quantum dynamics of the hydrogen bonds in the adenine-thymine base pair. Due to the position of hydrogen atoms, different tautomers are possible: the stable Watson-Crick A-T, the imino-enol A*-T* and the zwitterionic (the form with charge separation) A+-T− and A−-T+ structures. The common idea in the literature is that only A-T exists either because the difference of energy among this tautomer and the others is large or because the other structures are transformed quickly in A-T. Here, we show a detailed theoretical study that suggests the following conclusion: A-T is the stablest tautomer, a partially charged system is important and a small amount of the imino-enol A*-T* tautomer is present at any time. The mechanism of passage from A-T tautomer to the others has also been investigated.