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Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Qualitative Identification of Carboxylic Acids, Boronic Acids, and Amines Using Cruciform Fluorophores

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Published on: August 19, 2013

Mechanical Cooperativity in DNA Cruciform Structures.

Shankar Mandal¹, Sangeetha Selvam¹, Yunxi Cui^1,2

¹Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.

Chemphyschem : a European Journal of Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry

|July 12, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Torque alters DNA cruciform topology and stability, influencing molecular mechanochemistry. This discovery reveals how DNA structures dynamically respond to mechanical forces, impacting biological processes like transcription.

Keywords:

DNA cruciform magneto-optical tweezers mechanical cooperativity superhelicity torsionally constrained DNA

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Area of Science:

Biophysics
Molecular Biology
Genetics

Background:

Long-range mechanical interactions, not just chemical bonds, govern molecular mechanochemistry.
Directly quantifying these mechanical interactions in biomolecules is experimentally difficult.
DNA cruciforms are naturally occurring structures with potential roles in gene regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of torque on DNA cruciform topology and mechanochemical properties.
To quantify the relationship between mechanical force and the stability of DNA cruciforms.
To explore the implications of these findings for DNA's role in biological processes such as transcription.

Main Methods:

Utilized magneto-optical tweezers for precise application and measurement of torque.
Analyzed changes in DNA cruciform structure and stability under varying torque conditions.
Investigated the topological coupling between the DNA template and the cruciform structure.

Main Results:

Positive torque was found to increase both the mechanical and thermodynamic stabilities of DNA cruciforms.
A topological coupling between the DNA template and cruciform was identified, affecting both arms simultaneously.
This coupling leads to coordinated folding/unfolding, resulting in previously unobserved mechanical cooperativity.
DNA cruciforms exhibit torque-dependent modulation of their properties.

Conclusions:

Torque significantly influences DNA cruciform structure, stability, and mechanochemical properties.
The observed mechanical cooperativity in DNA cruciforms has implications for understanding DNA mechanics.
DNA cruciforms may act as dynamic regulators of transcription by responding to torque variations during cellular processes.