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A method to estimate the elastic energy stored in braided DNA molecules using hydrodynamic equations.

ABSTRACT: We present a single-molecule method for measuring the torque exerted by braided DNA molecules undergoing spontaneous unbraiding while attached to a paramagnetic dumbbell in the absence of external manipulation. A magnetic tweezers setup is employed to braid pairs of lambda DNA molecules covalently bound to a surface. Upon removing the magnetic field, the braided DNA molecules undergo spontaneous unbraiding, efficiently transforming the stored elastic energy into enough mechanical energy to rotate the tethered dumbbells for periods as long as 30 minutes. Using hydrodynamic equations we estimate the torque exerted on the dumbbells by the DNA braids, yielding values ranging from 47 to 166 pN nm.

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Sierra M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3133659 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A method to estimate the elastic energy stored in braided DNA molecules using hydrodynamic equations.

Fernández-Sierra Mónica M Delgado-Martí Violeta V Colón-García Jorge E JE Quiñones Edwin E

Chemical physics 20110501 1-3

We present a single-molecule method for measuring the torque exerted by braided DNA molecules undergoing spontaneous unbraiding while attached to a paramagnetic dumbbell in the absence of external manipulation. A magnetic tweezers setup is employed to braid pairs of lambda DNA molecules covalently bound to a surface. Upon removing the magnetic field, the braided DNA molecules undergo spontaneous unbraiding, efficiently transforming the stored elastic energy into enough mechanical energy to rotat ...[more]

PMID: 21765578

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Project description:UNLABELLED:Phage shock protein A (PspA), which is responsible for maintaining inner membrane integrity under stress in enterobacteria, and vesicle-inducting protein in plastids 1 (Vipp1), which functions for membrane maintenance and thylakoid biogenesis in cyanobacteria and plants, are similar peripheral membrane-binding proteins. Their homologous N-terminal amphipathic helices are required for membrane binding; however, the membrane features recognized and required for expressing their functionalities have remained largely uncharacterized. Rigorously controlled, in vitro methodologies with lipid vesicles and purified proteins were used in this study and provided the first biochemical and biophysical characterizations of membrane binding by PspA and Vipp1. Both proteins are found to sense stored curvature elastic (SCE) stress and anionic lipids within the membrane. PspA has an enhanced sensitivity for SCE stress and a higher affinity for the membrane than Vipp1. These variations in binding may be crucial for some of the proteins' differing roles in vivo. Assays probing the transcriptional regulatory function of PspA in the presence of vesicles showed that a relief of transcription inhibition occurs in an SCE stress-specific manner. This in vitro recapitulation of membrane stress-dependent transcription control suggests that the Psp response may be mounted in vivo when a cell's inner membrane experiences increased SCE stress. IMPORTANCE:All cell types maintain the integrity of their membrane systems. One widely distributed membrane stress response system in bacteria is the phage shock protein (Psp) system. The central component, peripheral membrane protein PspA, which mitigates inner membrane stress in bacteria, has a counterpart, Vipp1, which functions for membrane maintenance and thylakoid biogenesis in plants and photosynthetic bacteria. Membrane association of both these proteins is accepted as playing a pivotal role in their functions. Here we show that direct membrane binding by PspA and Vipp1 is driven by two physio-chemical signals, one of which is membrane stress specific. Our work points to alleviation of membrane stored curvature elastic stress by amphipathic helix insertions as an attractive mechanism for membrane maintenance by PspA and Vipp1. Furthermore, the identification of a physical, stress-related membrane signal suggests a unilateral mechanism that promotes both binding of PspA and induction of the Psp response.

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A method to estimate the elastic energy stored in braided DNA molecules using hydrodynamic equations.

Publications

A method to estimate the elastic energy stored in braided DNA molecules using hydrodynamic equations.

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