help button home button Biophys. J.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

Biophysical Journal 69: 1036-1045 (1995)
© 1995 the Biophysical Society

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Levene, S D
Right arrow Articles by Cozzarelli, N R
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Levene, S D
Right arrow Articles by Cozzarelli, N R

Analysis of the structure of dimeric DNA catenanes by electron microscopy.

S D Levene, C Donahue, T C Boles and N R Cozzarelli

Program in Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson 75083, USA.

ABSTRACT

We analyzed the structure of open-circular and supercoiled dimeric DNA catenanes generated by site-specific recombination in vitro. Electron microscopy of open-circular catenanes shows that the number of duplex crossings in a plane is a linear function of the number of catenane interlinks (Ca/2), and that the length of the catenane axis is constant, independent of Ca. These relationships are similar to those observed with supercoiled DNA. Statistical analyses reveal, however, that the conformations of the individual rings of the catenanes are similar to those of unlinked circles. The distribution of distances between randomly chosen points on separate rings depends strongly on Ca and is consistent with a sharp decrease in the center-of-mass separation between rings with increasing Ca. Singly linked supercoiled catenanes are seen by microscopy to be linked predominantly through terminal loops in the respective superhelices. The observations suggest that chain entropy is a major factor determining the conformation of DNA catenanes.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
M. J. Molloy, V. S. Hall, S. I. Bailey, K. J. Griffin, J. Faulkner, and M. Uden
Effective and robust plasmid topology analysis and the subsequent characterization of the plasmid isoforms thereby observed
Nucleic Acids Res., September 9, 2004; 32(16): e129 - e129.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol. Biol. CellHome page
J. F. Marko and E. D. Siggia
Polymer Models of Meiotic and Mitotic Chromosomes
Mol. Biol. Cell, November 1, 1997; 8(11): 2217 - 2231.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
C. Ullsperger and N. R. Cozzarelli
Contrasting Enzymatic Activities of Topoisomerase IV and DNA Gyrase from Escherichia coli
J. Biol. Chem., December 6, 1996; 271(49): 31549 - 31555.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1995 by the Biophysical Society.