Influence of Divalent Counterions on the Dynamics in DNA as Probed by Using a Minor-Groove Binder

DNA dynamics, to which water, counterions, and DNA motions contribute, is a topic of considerable interest because it is closely related to the efficiency of biological functions performed by it. Simulation studies and experiments suggest that the counterion dynamics in DNA probed by a minor-groove binder are similar for various monovalent counterions. To date, the influence on DNA dynamics of higher-valence counterions, which are also present around DNA and are known to bind more strongly to it than monovalent ions, has not been studied. Herein we investigated DNA dynamics in the presence of Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ , chosen for their relative abundance in cells, by using minor-groove binder 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) as a fluorescence probe. The dynamics, as measured from the time-resolved fluorescence Stokes shifts of DAPI bound to calf thymus DNA on a subpicosecond-to-nanosecond timescale, were found to be very similar in the presence of both the divalent ions and Na⁺ ions. The observation is explained by considering the screening of the electric field of the divalent ion by its hydration shell, preferential binding of the ions to the phosphate groups, and displacement of ions from the minor groove by DAPI due to the stronger binding interaction of the latter. Furthermore, the similarity of our results in the presence of Na⁺ to those reported for smaller oligonucleotides suggests that the chain length of DNA does not influence the DNA dynamics.