Real-time compaction of nanoconfined DNA by an intrinsically disordered macromolecular counterion
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2020

We demonstrate how a recently developed nanofluidic device can be used to study protein-induced compaction of genome-length DNA freely suspended in solution. The protein we use in this study is the hepatitis C virus core protein (HCVcp), which is a positively charged, intrinsically disordered protein. Using nanofluidic devices in combination with fluorescence microscopy, we observe that protein-induced compaction preferentially begins at the ends of linear DNA. This observation would be difficult to make with many other single-molecule techniques, which generally require the DNA ends to be anchored to a substrate. We also demonstrate that this protein-induced compaction is reversible and can be dynamically modulated by exposing the confined DNA molecules to solutions containing either HCVcp (to promote compaction) or Proteinase K (to disassemble the compact nucleo-protein complex). Although the natural binding partner for HCVcp is genomic viral RNA, the general biophysical principles governing protein-induced compaction of DNA are likely relevant for a broad range of nucleic acid-binding proteins and their targets.

Nanofluidic device

Protein-DNA interaction

DNA condensation and compaction

Hepatitis C virus core protein

Macromolecular counterion

Intrinsically disordered protein

Författare

Rajhans Sharma

Chalmers, Biologi och bioteknik, Kemisk biologi

Sriram Kesarimangalam

Chalmers, Biologi och bioteknik, Kemisk biologi

Erik D. Holmstrom

University of Kansas

Fredrik Westerlund

Chalmers, Biologi och bioteknik, Kemisk biologi

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

0006-291X (ISSN) 1090-2104 (eISSN)

Vol. 533 1 175-180

Styrkeområden

Nanovetenskap och nanoteknik

Ämneskategorier

Biokemi och molekylärbiologi

Biofysik

Strukturbiologi

DOI

10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.06.051

PubMed

32951838

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2021-04-28