H-NS mediated compaction of DNA visualised by atomic force microscopy
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: The Escherichia coli H-NS protein is a nucleoid-associated protein involved in gene regulation and DNA compaction. To get more insight into the mechanism of DNA compaction we applied atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the structure of H-NS-DNA complexes. On circular DNA molecules two different levels of H-NS induced condensation were observed. H-NS induced lateral condensation of large regions of the plasmid. In addition, large globular structures were identified that incorporated a considerable amount of DNA. The formation of these globular structures appeared not to be dependent on any specific sequence. On the basis of the AFM images, a model for global condensation of the chromosomal DNA by H-NS is proposed.
Source: Nucleic Acids Research
Author: R. T. Dame
Institution: Leiden University
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2136440044