Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725, United States.
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725, United States.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 7;7(1):7382. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-07796-3.
DNA nanostructures represent the confluence of materials science, computer science, biology, and engineering. As functional assemblies, they are capable of performing mechanical and chemical work. In this study, we demonstrate global twisting of DNA nanorails made from two DNA origami six-helix bundles. Twisting was controlled using ethidium bromide or SYBR Green I as model intercalators. Our findings demonstrate that DNA nanorails: (i) twist when subjected to intercalators and the amount of twisting is concentration dependent, and (ii) twisting saturates at elevated concentrations. This study provides insight into how complex DNA structures undergo conformational changes when exposed to intercalators and may be of relevance when exploring how intercalating drugs interact with condensed biological structures such as chromatin and chromosomes, as well as chromatin analogous gene expression devices.
DNA 纳米结构代表了材料科学、计算机科学、生物学和工程学的融合。作为功能组件，它们能够进行机械和化学工作。在这项研究中，我们展示了由两个 DNA 折纸六螺旋束制成的 DNA 纳米轨的全局扭曲。通过使用溴化乙锭或 SYBR Green I 作为模型嵌入剂来控制扭曲。我们的研究结果表明，DNA 纳米轨：（i）当受到嵌入剂的影响时会发生扭曲，并且扭曲程度与浓度有关，（ii）在高浓度时扭曲会饱和。这项研究深入了解了复杂的 DNA 结构在暴露于嵌入剂时如何发生构象变化，并且在探索嵌入药物如何与浓缩的生物结构（如染色质和染色体）以及类似染色质的基因表达装置相互作用时可能具有相关性。
