Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Analyzing Telomeric Protein-DNA Interactions Using Single-Molecule Magnetic Tweezers
Published on: August 30, 2024
Cooperative effect in the electronic properties of human telomere sequence
Tal Z Markus1, Shirley S Daube, Ron Naaman
1Department of Chemical Physics, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Abstract:
The contribution of sequence elements of human telomere DNA to the interaction of DNA with electrons has been analyzed. By applying wavelength dependent low-energy photoelectron transmission and two-photon photoemission spectroscopy, we investigated the density of states of DNA oligomers with partial sequence elements of the human telomere assembled as monolayers on gold. The findings demonstrate the role of the resonance states in the DNA in accepting electrons and the effect of the sequence on these states. When guanine (G) bases are clustered together, the resonance negative ion state is stabilized, as compared to oligomers containing the same number of G bases but distributed within the sequence. The electron-capturing probability of the human telomere-like oligomer, a sequence with an additional single adenine (A) base adjacent to the G cluster, is dramatically enhanced compared to the other oligomers studied, most likely due to the enhancement of the density of states near the highest occupied molecular orbital.
Related Concept Videos
Telomeres and Telomerase
Telomeres and Telomerase
Replication in Eukaryotes
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
Replication in Eukaryotes
Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators
Replicative Cell Senescence
