Stretching DNA Yields Surprise

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To test what happens when a DNA molecule is overwound the DNA was stretched between a glass coverslip and a paramagnetic bead while a fluorescent avidin-coated rotor bead was attached to the DNA just below a biochemical nick. Tension in the DNA was c ...
To test what happens when a DNA molecule is overwound, the DNA was stretched between a glass coverslip and a paramagnetic bead, while a fluorescent avidin-coated rotor bead was attached to the DNA just below a biochemical nick. Tension in the DNA was controlled by raising or lowering the magnets, and changes in winding were observed by tracking the rotation of the fluorescent bead.

Most of us are familiar with the winding staircase image of DNA, the repository of a biological cell's genetic information. But few of us realize just how tightly that famous double helix is wound.


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