Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: We study the statistical-mechanical properties of intertwined double-helical DNAs (DNA braids). In magnetic tweezers experiments, we find that torsionally stressed stretched braids supercoil via an abrupt buckling transition, which is associated with the nucleation of a braid end loop, and that the buckled braid is characterized by a proliferation of multiple domains. Differences between the mechanics of DNA braids and supercoiled single DNAs can be understood as an effect of the increased bulkiness in the structure of the former. The experimental results are in accord with the predictions of a statistical-mechanical model.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institution: Northwestern University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Statistical mechanics of DNA-protein interactions and chromosome organization, Micromechanical Analysis of Chromosome Structure, Spatio-Temporal Organization of Chromatin and Information Transfer in Cancer, Center for 3D Structure and Physics of the Genome, Structural and biophysical studies of DNA topoisomerases, Molecular Biophysics Training Program at Northwestern University, Activities of nucleoprotein complexes visualized in single-molecule experiments
OpenAlex ID: W2949228130