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Related Experiment Videos

Supercoiling-induced DNA bending.

Jeffrey W Pavlicek1, Elena A Oussatcheva, Richard R Sinden

  • 1School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA.

Biochemistry
|August 18, 2004
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Supercoiled DNA

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Structural Biology

Background:

  • Local DNA bending is crucial for DNA recognition by proteins.
  • Supercoiling enhances DNA dynamics, aiding DNA-protein complex formation.
  • Apexes of supercoiled DNA may exhibit distorted geometry, promoting alternative structures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate DNA geometry at apical positions of supercoiled DNA.
  • To test if apical positions in supercoiled DNA experience increased bending stress.
  • To correlate DNA structure and dynamics with supercoiling-induced stress.

Main Methods:

  • Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure DNA curvature.
  • Plasmids with specific A tract and inverted repeat sequences were constructed.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Cruciform formation served as a marker for identifying A tract locations.

    • Main Results:

    • Apical localization of both curved (A tract) and non-bent (mixed sequence) DNA increased bending angles.
    • Bending angles at apexes exceeded those expected for unconstrained DNA.
    • Increased helical distortion was observed at apical bends in supercoiled DNA.

    Conclusions:

    • Supercoiled DNA apexes exhibit increased local bending and helical distortion.
    • This distortion is independent of inherent DNA curvature.
    • Apical DNA geometry changes likely contribute to cruciform formation and DNA-protein interactions.