title: Positively charged surfaces increase the flexibility of DNA.
abstract: Many proteins "bind" DNA through positively charged amino acids on their surfaces. However, to overcome significant energetic and topological obstacles, proteins that bend or package DNA might also modulate the stiffness that is generated by repulsions between phosphates within DNA. Much previous work describes how ions change the flexibility of DNA in solution, but when considering macromolecules such as chromatin in which the DNA contacts the nucleosome core each turn of the double helix, it may be more appropriate to assess the flexibility of DNA on charged surfaces. Mica coated with positively charged molecules is a convenient substrate upon which the flexibility of DNA may be directly measured with a scanning force microscope. In the experiments described below, the flexibility of DNA increased as much as fivefold depending on the concentration and type of polyamine used to coat mica. Using theory that relates charge neutralization to flexibility, we predict that phosphate repulsions were attenuated by approximately 50% in the most flexible DNA observed. This simple method is an important tool for investigating the physiochemical causes and molecular biological effects of DNA flexibility, which affects DNA biochemistry ranging from chromatin stability to viral encapsulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, INFM and CIMAINA, and Department of Biology and CIMAINA, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Podestà
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Indrieri
authors.forename: Doriano
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brogioli
authors.forename: Gerald S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.forename: Rosalinda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Finzi
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dunlap
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000838:Anions; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004548:Elasticity; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation / Q000528:radiation effects; D055672:Static Electricity; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D000838:Anions; D004247:DNA; C011934:mica