title: Optical Methods to Study Protein-DNA Interactions in Vitro and in Living Cells at the Single-Molecule Level.
abstract: The maintenance of intact genetic information, as well as the deployment of transcription for specific sets of genes, critically rely on a family of proteins interacting with DNA and recognizing specific sequences or features. The mechanisms by which these proteins search for target DNA are the subject of intense investigations employing a  variety of methods in biology. A large interest in these processes stems from the  faster-than-diffusion association rates, explained in current models by a combination of 3D and 1D diffusion. Here, we present a review of the single-molecule approaches at the forefront of the study of protein-DNA interaction dynamics and target search in vitro and in vivo. Flow stretch, optical and magnetic manipulation, single fluorophore detection and localization as well as combinations of different methods are described and the results obtained with these techniques are discussed in the framework of the current facilitated diffusion model.
authors: European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy, Via Nello Carrara 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy. monico@lens.unifi.it.
authors: Carina
authors: C
authors: Monico
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Capitanio
authors: Gionata
authors: G
authors: Belcastro
authors: Francesco
authors: F
authors: Vanzi
authors: Francesco S
authors: FS
authors: Pavone