Crowding Induces Entropically-Driven Changes to DNA Dynamics That Depend on Crowder Structure and Ionic Conditions.

ABSTRACT: Macromolecular crowding plays a principal role in a wide range of biological processes including gene expression, chromosomal compaction, and viral infection. However, the impact that crowding has on the dynamics of nucleic acids remains a topic of debate. To address this problem, we use single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and custom particle-tracking algorithms to investigate the impact of varying macromolecular crowding conditions on the transport and conformational dynamics of large DNA molecules. Specifically, we measure the mean-squared center-of-mass displacements, as well as the conformational size, shape, and fluctuations, of individual 115 kbp DNA molecules diffusing through various in vitro solutions of crowding polymers. We determine the role of crowder structure and concent

SUBMITTER: Mardoum WM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6820857 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature