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Related Concept Videos

X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples01:10

X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples

X-ray diffraction or XRD is an analytical tool that utilizes X-rays to study ordered structures such as crystalline organic and inorganic samples, polycrystalline materials, proteins, carbohydrates, and drugs.
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are  scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The  X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal crystal...
X-ray Crystallography02:18

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
The DNA Helix01:07

The DNA Helix

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the genetic material responsible for passing traits from generation to generation in all organisms and most viruses. DNA is composed of two strands of nucleotides that wind around each other to form a spring-like structure called a double helix. However, the double helix is not perfectly symmetrical. Instead, there are regularly occurring grooves in the structure. The major groove occurs where the sugar-phosphate backbones are relatively far apart. This space...
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Overview
Determination of Crystal Structures01:29

Determination of Crystal Structures

In the late 1800s, the revelation that light extended beyond visible wavelengths led to the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen. Recognized as high-energy electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths, X-rays prompted exploration into their interaction with crystals. Max von Laue proposed in 1912 that the periodic arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in crystals would cause them to diffract X-rays, a hypothesis confirmed through experiments with copper sulfate and zinc sulfide...
DNA as a Genetic Template02:05

DNA as a Genetic Template

Two structural features of the DNA molecule provide a basis for the mechanisms of heredity: the four nucleotide bases and its double-stranded nature. The Watson-Crick model of double-helical DNA structure, proposed in 1952, drew heavily upon the X-ray crystallography work of researchers Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in 1962. Franklin was, controversially, excluded from the prize for...

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Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
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Signatures of DNA flexibility, interactions and sequence-related structural variations in classical X-ray diffraction

A A Kornyshev1, D J Lee, A Wynveen

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK. a.kornyshev@imperial.ac.uk

Nucleic Acids Research
|May 20, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

New X-ray diffraction theory reveals DNA flexibility and sequence variations. This approach extracts crucial information about DNA structure, packing, and function from diffraction patterns, going beyond ideal helix models.

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Last Updated: Jun 1, 2026

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Published on: June 28, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Structural Biology
  • Biophysics
  • X-ray Crystallography

Background:

  • The initial Watson and Crick model of DNA structure relied on X-ray diffraction from ideal, rigid helices.
  • Modern understanding reveals DNA is neither ideal nor rigid; its structure varies with base sequence and exhibits flexibility.
  • This flexibility allows for thermal fluctuations and structural adaptations for intermolecular interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel diffraction theory that accounts for DNA non-ideality, flexibility, and sequence-dependent variations.
  • To extract previously inaccessible information about DNA flexibility, interactions, and sequence variations from X-ray diffraction patterns.
  • To analyze how these factors influence DNA structure, packing, and function.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a new diffraction theory incorporating double helix non-ideality and fluctuations.
  • Analyzed the broadening of diffraction peaks caused by these structural effects.
  • Examined meridional intensity profiles of helical layer lines and the width of fifth layer line peaks.

Main Results:

  • The new theory demonstrates how non-ideality and fluctuations broaden X-ray diffraction peaks.
  • Meridional intensity profiles of the first three layer lines provide insights into structural adaptation and intermolecular interactions.
  • The meridional width of the fifth layer line peaks correlates inversely with helical coherence length, reflecting sequence and thermal variations.

Conclusions:

  • Classical X-ray diffraction patterns contain rich information beyond helical symmetry, including flexibility and sequence-related variations.
  • The developed theory enables the extraction of these crucial parameters from measured fiber diffraction patterns.
  • This approach yields important insights into the factors controlling DNA structure, packing, and biological function.