Direct observation of azimuthal correlations between DNA in hydrated aggregates

This study revisits the classical x-ray diffraction patterns from hydrated, noncrystalline fibers originally used to establish the helical structure of DNA. We argue that changes in these diffraction patterns with DNA packing density reveal strong azimuthally dependent interactions between adjacent molecules up to approximately 40 A interaxial or approximately 20 A surface-to-surface separations. These interactions appear to force significant torsional "straightening" of DNA and strong azimuthal alignment of nearest neighbor molecules. The results are in good agreement with the predictions of recent theoretical models relating DNA-DNA interactions to the helical symmetry of their surface charge patterns.