Direct Measurements of Base Stacking Interactions in DNA by Single-Molecule Atomic-Force Spectroscopy
- 5 July 2007
- journal article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 99 (1), 018302
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.99.018302
Abstract
We investigate the elasticity of two types of single-stranded synthetic DNA homopolydeoxynucletides, poly(dA) and poly(dT), by AFM-based single-molecule force spectroscopy. We find that poly(dT) exhibits the expected entropic elasticity behavior, while poly(dA) unexpectedly displays two overstretching transitions in the force-extension relationship. We suggest that these transitions, which occur at and , directly capture, for the first time, the mechanical signature of base-stacking interactions among adenines in DNA, in the absence of base pairing.
Keywords
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