title: Dynamics of the DNA duplex formation studied by single molecule force measurements.
abstract: DNA is partly denatured in vitro by applying a force that mechanically separates the two strands of the double helix. Sudden reduction of the imposed displacement triggers spontaneous reannealing of the molecule. The corresponding force signals are measured by optical trapping interferometry for backward steps of various amplitudes and base sequence intervals. The measured signals frequently show plateaus of varying duration at discrete values that are dependent on the base sequence. Additional measurements are performed with proteins bound to the double helix. When the opening fork encounters such a protein during mechanical unzipping, force increases until the protein is ejected. This ejection induces fast release of tension and fast unzipping. Comparing our different measurements, we find that both DNA unzipping and the relaxation of tension in DNA are faster than the formation of the double helix.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Pierre Aigrain, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. ulrich@lpa.ens.fr
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bockelmann
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Heslot
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific / Q000737:chemistry*; D004548:Elasticity; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000379:methods*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009038:Motion; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009691:Nucleic Acid Denaturation; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific; C027440:GATATC-specific type II deoxyribonucleases