Single-molecule Magnetic Tweezer Tests On DNA

Biomedical researchers stretch and twist single DNA molecules with magnetic tweezers. By making the molecule writhe into a plectoneme (ply), DNA parameters, such as its effective radius, are estimated. Adding untangling enzymes (topoisomerases) to the DNA’s environment, their individual cuts are detected as jumps in extension. The novelty of this paper is to study their actions in ply solutions from elastic rod theory.

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Filed under: Genetics on June 10th, 2008