Institute of Advanced Machines and Design, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Dec 2;49(21):12591-12599. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkab1119.
Recent advances in DNA nanotechnology led the fabrication and utilization of various DNA assemblies, but the development of a method to control their global shapes and mechanical flexibilities with high efficiency and repeatability is one of the remaining challenges for the realization of the molecular machines with on-demand functionalities. DNA-binding molecules with intercalation and groove binding modes are known to induce the perturbation on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of DNA at the strand level, which might be effective in structured DNA assemblies as well. Here, we demonstrate that the chemo-mechanical response of DNA strands with binding ligands can change the global shape and stiffness of DNA origami nanostructures, thereby enabling the systematic modulation of them by selecting a proper ligand and its concentration. Multiple DNA-binding drugs and fluorophores were applied to straight and curved DNA origami bundles, which demonstrated a fast, recoverable, and controllable alteration of the bending persistence length and the radius of curvature of DNA nanostructures. This chemo-mechanical modulation of DNA nanostructures would provide a powerful tool for reconfigurable and dynamic actuation of DNA machineries.
近年来，DNA 纳米技术的发展推动了各种 DNA 组装体的制造和利用，但是开发一种高效、可重复的方法来控制它们的整体形状和机械柔韧性仍然是实现具有按需功能的分子机器的挑战之一。具有嵌入和沟结合模式的 DNA 结合分子已知会在链水平上引起 DNA 几何和机械特性的扰动，这在结构化 DNA 组装体中也可能是有效的。在这里，我们证明了具有结合配体的 DNA 链的化学机械响应可以改变 DNA 折纸纳米结构的整体形状和刚度，从而通过选择适当的配体及其浓度来对其进行系统调节。多种 DNA 结合药物和荧光染料被应用于直的和弯曲的 DNA 折纸束，这证明了 DNA 纳米结构的弯曲持久长度和曲率半径可以快速、可恢复和可控地改变。这种 DNA 纳米结构的化学机械调节将为可重构和动态驱动 DNA 机械提供强大的工具。
