title: Conformational transition in DNA on a cold surface.
abstract: The contour length of DNA fragments, deposited and imaged on mica under buffer, was measured as a function of deposition temperature. Extended DNA molecules (on Ni- and silane-treated surfaces) contract rapidly with falling temperature, approaching the contour length of A-DNA at 2 degrees C. The contraction is not unique to a specific sequence and does not occur in solution at 2 degrees C or on a surface at 25 degrees C, indicating that it arises from a combination of low temperature and surface contact. It is probably a consequence of reduced water activity at a cold surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA.
authors.forename: X Z
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bash
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balagurumoorthy
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lohr
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lindsay
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D004279:DNA, Viral; C011934:mica