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Related Experiment Videos

Fluctuations in superhelical DNA.

A V Vologodskii, A V Lukashin, V V Anshelevich

    Nucleic Acids Research
    |March 1, 1979
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

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    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2001

    Superhelicity influences DNA structure, increasing base-pair opening at physiological levels. Permanently opened regions and cruciform structures form at higher superhelix densities, impacting DNA free energy.

    Area of Science:

    • Molecular Biology
    • Biophysics
    • Genetics

    Background:

    • Superhelicity is a critical property of DNA, influencing its structure and function.
    • Understanding DNA secondary structure fluctuations is key to comprehending genetic processes.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To theoretically investigate the impact of superhelicity on DNA base-pair opening and cruciform structure formation.
    • To analyze experimental methods for probing superhelical DNA fluctuations.

    Main Methods:

    • Theoretical calculations of base-pair opening probability and cruciform state occurrence.
    • Analysis of experimental data from single strand-specific endonucleases.

    Main Results:

    • Superhelicity significantly increases base-pair opening probability within physiological ranges (-sigma=0.05-0.09).

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  • Permanently opened regions and cruciform structures emerge at higher superhelix densities (-sigma > 0.10).
  • DNA free energy dependence on superhelicity changes from parabolic to linear above a critical value (-sigma=0.085).

    • Conclusions:

    • Superhelicity plays a crucial role in modulating DNA structural dynamics.
    • Theoretical findings align with experimental data, particularly from endonuclease nicking assays.
    • The study provides insights into the biological significance of DNA supercoiling.