Examining the Effects of Netropsin on the Curvature of DNA A-Tracts Using Electrophoresis.

ABSTRACT: A-tracts are sequences of repeated adenine bases that, under the proper conditions, are capable of mediating DNA curvature. A-tracts occur naturally in the regulatory regions of many organisms, yet their biological functions are not fully understood. Orienting multiple A-tracts together constructively or destructively in a phase has the potential to create different shapes in the DNA helix axis. One means of detecting these molecular shape differences is from altered DNA mobilities measured using electrophoresis. The small molecule netropsin binds the minor groove of DNA, particularly at AT-rich sequences including A-tracts. Here, we systematically test the hypothesis that netropsin binding eliminates the curvature of A-tracts by measuring the electrophoretic mobilities of seven 98-base pa

SUBMITTER: Miller J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8510488 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature