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Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Magnetic Tweezers for the Measurement of Twist and Torque
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Magnetic Tweezers for the Measurement of Twist and Torque

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Twisting DNA by salt.

Sergio Cruz-León1, Willem Vanderlinden2, Peter Müller2

  • 1Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Str. 3, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Nucleic Acids Research
|May 31, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

DNA twist, a key property, changes with ion concentration and type. Cations like Na+, K+, and Ca2+ influence twist, with specific binding patterns explaining the observed ion specificity.

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Structural Biology
  • Computational Chemistry

Background:

  • DNA structure and properties are sensitive to environmental factors, particularly the surrounding ion atmosphere.
  • DNA twist is a fundamental property influencing DNA function and interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how DNA twist is affected by the concentration and identity of surrounding cations.
  • To elucidate the microscopic mechanisms behind cation-specific modulation of DNA twist.

Main Methods:

  • Combined single-molecule magnetic tweezer experiments with all-atom molecular dynamics simulations.
  • Investigated monovalent alkali and divalent alkaline earth cations.

Main Results:

  • DNA twist increases monotonically with increasing cation concentration for all ions studied.
  • DNA twist exhibits strong dependence on cation identity at a given concentration, with a specific ordering observed (e.g., Na+ < K+ < Ca2+).
  • Molecular dynamics simulations revealed preferential cation binding to DNA backbone and nucleobases, explaining ion specificity.

Conclusions:

  • Cation identity and concentration significantly modulate DNA twist through specific binding interactions.
  • The findings provide a foundation for predicting cation-induced DNA structural changes in biological and nanotechnology contexts.
  • Identified limitations in current force field parameters for certain ions (Cs+, Sr2+).