title: Crossed-stranded DNA structures for investigating the molecular dynamics of the Holliday junction.
abstract: We have developed a simple and rapid procedure for the synthesis and isolation of figure-eight DNA molecules (figure-8s) beginning with phagemid vectors. The figure-8 molecules generated contain a Holliday junction within 2.9 kb (1 kb = 10(3) bases or base-pairs) of continuous homology connecting the two monomer duplexes. The structure of these molecules was verified by restriction endonuclease analysis, two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis, and electron microscopy. Digestion of the figure-8 molecules with a restriction enzyme that cleaves only within the region of DNA sequence homology converted them to X-forms that could dissociate to yield linear monomers. The X-form molecules were stable under physiological conditions, a finding contradicting the notion that spontaneous branch migration is fast.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Symington
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008274:Magnesium; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010957:Plasmids; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D008274:Magnesium