Long-range interactions between transcription factors.
We discuss a method for analysing the number of GFP-LacI fusion transcription factors bound to a construct of 256 contiguous LacI binding sites using photon bleaching statics. We show by using a combination of imaging of the construct in nanochannels, photon statistics and addition of IGFP that the binding coefficient of the LacI decreases with increasing occupation of the construct, with a binding coefficient of 10(-6) M when only 15 of the 256 possible sites are occupied. We model this effect by assuming that the GFP-LacI dimer introduces elastic strain into the helix by generalized deformations, and that this strain propagates over distances at least as large as the persistence length.
Wang
Yan Mei
YM
Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Tegenfeldt
Jonas O
JO
Sturm
Jim
J
Austin
Robert H
RH