Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Role of Myosin-7a and Usher Proteins in Hearing and Human Disease
Published on: August 23, 2024
Purification and Biophysical Characterization of the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 Complex
Logan R Myler1, Michael M Soniat1,2, Xiaoming Zhang1,3
1Department of Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Abstract:
The Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex coordinates the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, replication fork restart, meiosis, class-switch recombination, and telomere maintenance. As such, MRN is an essential molecular machine that has homologs in all organisms of life, from bacteriophage to humans. In human cells, MRN is a >500 kDa multifunctional complex that encodes DNA binding, ATPase, and both endonuclease and exonuclease activities. MRN also forms larger assemblies and interacts with multiple DNA repair and replication factors. The enzymatic properties of MRN have been the subject of intense research for over 20 years, and more recently, single-molecule biophysics studies are beginning to probe its many biochemical activities. Here, we describe the methods used to overexpress, fluorescently label, and visualize MRN and its activities on single molecules of DNA.
More Related Videos
13:21Preparation, Purification, and Characterization of Lanthanide Complexes for Use as Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: July 21, 2011
08:58Characterization of Glycoproteins with the Immunoglobulin Fold by X-Ray Crystallography and Biophysical Techniques
Published on: July 5, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
Formation of Complex Ions
Complex Power
Complex power is defined as the multiplication of the voltage and the complex conjugate of the current. The magnitude of this power, known as apparent power, is measured in volt-amperes (VA). Notably, the angle of the complex power equates to the...
Complexation Equilibria: Factors Influencing Stability of Complexes
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...