Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Flow of structural information between four DNA conformational levels

S Levin-Zaidman1, Z Reich, E J Wachtel

  • 1Department of Organic Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.

Biochemistry
|March 5, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Supercoiled DNA forms a liquid crystalline cholesteric phase, with its structure determined by DNA supercoiling. This finding reveals how DNA sequence and cellular conditions influence DNA organization in living systems.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

An inflammasome-driven differentiation program in intestinal stem cells protects against Salmonella infection.

Nature immunology·2026
Same author

Scanning force microscopy in the applied biological sciences.

Biotechnology advances·2003
Same author

Analysis of genetic control elements in eukaryotes: transcriptional activity or nuclear hitchhiking?

BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology·2001
Same author

Thermodynamic aspects of triplex DNA formation in crowded environments.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2001
Same author

Phase behavior, DNA ordering, and size instability of cationic lipoplexes. Relevance to optimal transfection activity.

The Journal of biological chemistry·2001
Same author

A regulated, NFkappaB-assisted import of plasmid DNA into mammalian cell nuclei.

Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy·2001

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Closed-circular supercoiled DNA molecules exhibit cholesteric liquid crystal phases in vitro and within bacteria.
  • The macroscopic properties of this chiral mesophase are linked to the supercoiling parameters of the DNA molecules.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between DNA supercoiling and the formation of cholesteric liquid crystalline phases.
  • To elucidate how DNA sequence and environmental factors influence DNA supramolecular organization.

Main Methods:

  • Circular dichroism spectroscopy to analyze chiral structures.
  • X-ray scattering to determine mesophase properties.
  • Analysis of supercoiling parameters and secondary conformational changes.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • The pitch of the DNA cholesteric phase is directly determined by superhelical density.
  • Superhelical density is modulated by DNA secondary conformational changes.
  • A direct link exists between DNA sequence, secondary structure, tertiary conformation, and quaternary organization.

Conclusions:

  • Liquid crystallinity is a regulated packaging mechanism for nucleosome-free DNA in biological systems.
  • Cellular conditions can modulate DNA organization by affecting secondary structural transitions and superhelical parameters.