Visualization of hemiknot DNA structure with an atomic force microscope.

ABSTRACT: The hemiknot, a novel type of DNA structure in which a loop is stabilized by threading one end of the duplex through another, has been studied in this paper. The hemiknot was obtained by reassociation of a DNA fragment with (CA/TG)n inserts of different lengths. Slow and fast migrating products were purified by gel electrophoresis and imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM) using the aminopropylsilatrane-mica technique for sample preparation. Slow migrating product was characterized by the formation of small blobs for the short insert (60 bp) and clear loops and other morphologies for the long insert (188 bp). These structural features were found in almost 100% of the molecules of the slow migrating sample and were not present in the control sample. Measurements showed that the location of

SUBMITTER: Lyubchenko YL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC137173 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature