Conformational transition in DNA on a cold surface.
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.
Feng
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XZ
Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA.
Bash
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Balagurumoorthy
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Lohr
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Harrington
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Lindsay
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D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D004279:DNA, Viral; C011934:mica