The scientists captured the highest-resolution images ever made of DNA, revealing unseen twisting and wrinkling behaviors.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA, can be surprisingly active when crowded and contorted inside a cell, according to research published in Nature Communications. These hidden movements were revealed by computer simulations powered by the highest resolution images ever made from a single DNA molecule. The new study exposes previously unseen behaviors in the self-replication molecule, and this research could eventually lead to the development of new powerful gene therapies.
“To see is to believe, but with something as small as DNA, saw the helical structure of the entire DNA molecule was extremely challenging,” said Alice Pyne, the first author of the work and a materials scientist from the University of Sheffield in a statement. from the university. “The videos we have developed allow us to observe the twisting of DNA to a level of detail that has never been seen before.”
Scientists have previous they used microscopes to look at DNA and its twisted, scale-like configuration, but they were limited to static views of the molecule. What scientists have not been able to see is how the intense wrapping of DNA affects its double-helical structure. To accomplish this, Pyne and her colleagues combined high-resolution atomic force (AFM) microscopy with computerized simulations of molecular dynamics, which revealed the damage.
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The long, highly organized strands of DNA are tightly packed inside our cells. As the new study shows, this results in surprisingly dynamic physical behaviors.
Agnes Noy, a lecturer at York University and co-author of the study, said the microscopy images and computer simulations were so good that they increased the resolution of their experiments, allowing the team to “track how each atom of the double helix dances DNA. . “
For the study, the researchers looked at DNA mini-circles, in which a small strand is joined at both ends, forming a loop structure. DNA minicircles have been described previously and are believed to be important indicators of health.
Microscopic images of the DNA minicircles in their “relaxed” position (ie without twists) revealed very little movement, but the additional twists brought the loop to life, resulting in more vigorous movements. These dynamic movements can serve an important purpose, helping DNA to find binding partners and facilitate growth.
The new atomic force microscopy shows, “in remarkable detail,” how “wrinkled, boiling, bent, distorted, and strangely” really are DNA minicircles, “which we hope to be able to control someday,” Baylor College of Medicine biologist Lynn Zechiedrich, who provided the mini-circles for the study, said in a statement from the University of Sheffield.
Indeed, more information about DNA and how it is able to become so compact could lead to the development of completely new medical interventions, including improved DNA-based diagnoses and therapies, according to the researchers.