Combined Effects of Methylated Cytosine and Molecular Crowding on the Thermodynamic Stability of DNA Duplexes.

ABSTRACT: Methylated cytosine within CpG dinucleotides is a key factor for epigenetic gene regulation. It has been revealed that methylated cytosine decreases DNA backbone flexibility and increases the thermal stability of DNA. Although the molecular environment is an important factor for the structure, thermodynamics, and function of biomolecules, there are few reports on the effects of methylated cytosine under a cell-mimicking molecular environment. Here, we systematically investigated the effects of methylated cytosine on the thermodynamics of DNA duplexes under molecular crowding conditions, which is a critical difference between the molecular environment in cells and test tubes. Thermodynamic parameters quantitatively demonstrated that the methylation effect and molecular crowding effect on DN

SUBMITTER: Tsuruta M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7833394 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature