Jove
Visualize
Contact Us

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Flexural Rigidity Measurements of Biopolymers Using Gliding Assays
07:55

Flexural Rigidity Measurements of Biopolymers Using Gliding Assays

Published on: November 9, 2012

Dynamic bending rigidity of a 200-bp DNA in 4 mM ionic strength: a transient polarization grating study.

A N Naimushin1, B S Fujimoto, J M Schurr

  • 1Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, USA.

Biophysical Journal
|February 29, 2000
PubMed
Summary

This study reveals DNA exhibits three bend types: permanent, slowly relaxing, and dynamic. Dynamic bending rigidity (P(d)) and total persistence length (P(tot)) were measured, yielding P(tot) = 500 Å and P(d) = 2000 Å.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Dynamic light-scattering studies of internal motions in DNA. III. Evidence for titratable joints associated with bound polycations.

Biopolymers·2020
Same author

Observation of changes induced by picosecond light pulses in suspensions of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline vesicles.

Applied optics·2010
Same author

Photon-correlation spectroscopy in the near ultraviolet.

Optics letters·2009
Same author

Effect of polyethylene glycol on the supercoiling free energy of DNA.

Biopolymers·2000
Same author

Molecular motions in Fourier transform space.

Biophysical journal·2000
Same author

The distribution of end-to-end distances of the weakly bending rod model.

Biopolymers·2000
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • DNA exhibits complex bending behaviors, including permanent, slowly relaxing, and dynamic bends.
  • Understanding these bends is crucial for comprehending DNA's flexural dynamics and overall structure.
  • The dynamic bending rigidity (P(d)) and total persistence length (P(tot)) are key parameters governing DNA's conformational flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantitatively determine the dynamic bending rigidity (P(d)) and total persistence length (P(tot)) of DNA.
  • To investigate the contributions of different types of DNA bends to its overall flexibility.
  • To analyze the domain size of coherently bent DNA segments.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized time-resolved fluorescence polarization anisotropy (FPA) for DNA/ethidium complexes (0-120 ns).

More Related Videos

Studying DNA Looping by Single-Molecule FRET
11:27

Studying DNA Looping by Single-Molecule FRET

Published on: June 28, 2014

Single-molecule Manipulation of G-quadruplexes by Magnetic Tweezers
08:28

Single-molecule Manipulation of G-quadruplexes by Magnetic Tweezers

Published on: September 19, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Flexural Rigidity Measurements of Biopolymers Using Gliding Assays
07:55

Flexural Rigidity Measurements of Biopolymers Using Gliding Assays

Published on: November 9, 2012

Studying DNA Looping by Single-Molecule FRET
11:27

Studying DNA Looping by Single-Molecule FRET

Published on: June 28, 2014

Single-molecule Manipulation of G-quadruplexes by Magnetic Tweezers
08:28

Single-molecule Manipulation of G-quadruplexes by Magnetic Tweezers

Published on: September 19, 2017

  • Employed a novel transient polarization grating (TPG) experiment for DNA/methylene blue complexes (20 ns-10 µs).
  • Analyzed optical anisotropy decay to determine relaxation times and persistence lengths.

    • Main Results:

    • Estimated total equilibrium persistence length (P(tot)) as 500 Å.
    • Determined dynamic bending rigidity (P(d)) to be 2000 Å, with a significant discrimination against values below 1600 Å.
    • Calculated the contribution of slowly relaxing bends (P(sr)) as 1300 Å.
    • Estimated the domain size of coherently bent DNA to be at least 55 base pairs.

    Conclusions:

    • DNA exhibits distinct dynamic and equilibrium bending rigidities.
    • Slowly relaxing bends contribute significantly to DNA's overall flexibility.
    • The findings provide insights into the structural organization and dynamic behavior of DNA at the molecular level.