https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.09877
Formation of specific or non-specific complexes between deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins, mediated and stabilised by a network of non-covalent interactions.
Note: Nucleic acid–protein interactions are critical for basic cellular functions such as replication, transcription, translation, recombination, DNA repair etc. as well as for fine regulation of them. Proteins may bind more tightly to specific sequences in the nucleic acid or non-specifically, in which case their affinity is independent of sequence.