Temperature-dependent funnel-like DNA folding landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Nucleic acid hybridization in bimolecular and folding reactions is a fundamental kinetic process susceptible to water solvation, counterions, and chemical modifications with intricate enthalpy-entropy compensation effects. Such effects hinder the typically weak temperature dependencies of enthalpies and entropies quantified by the heat capacity change upon duplex formation. Using a temperature-jump optical trap, we investigate the folding thermodynamics and kinetics of DNA hairpins of varying stem sequences and loop sizes in the temperature range of 5-40○C. From a kinetic analysis and using a Clausius-Clapeyron equation in force, we derive the hybridization heat capacity changes ΔCp per GC and AT bp, finding 36 ± 3 and 29 ± 3 cal/(mol K), respectively. The almost equal values imply similar

SUBMITTER: Rico-Pasto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12276014 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature