Mechanical separation of the complementary strands of DNA.

Authors :: Essevaz-Roulet B
Bockelmann U
Heslot F
Source :: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] 1997 Oct 28; Vol. 94 (22), pp. 11935-40.
Publication Year :: 1997
Abstract: We describe the mechanical separation of the two complementary strands of a single molecule of bacteriophage lambda DNA. The 3' and 5' extremities on one end of the molecule are pulled progressively apart, and this leads to the opening of the double helix. The typical forces along the opening are in the range of 10-15 pN. The separation force signal is shown to be related to the local GC vs. AT content along the molecule. Variations of this content on a typical scale of 100-500 bases are presently detected.

Subjects :: Bacteriophage lambda
Base Composition
Biophysical Phenomena
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Nucleic Acid Denaturation
Optics and Photonics
Rotation
Thermodynamics
Biophysics
DNA, Single-Stranded isolation & purification
DNA, Viral
Micromanipulation methods

Language :: English
ISSN :: 0027-8424
Volume :: 94
Issue :: 22
Database :: MEDLINE
Journal :: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publication Type :: Academic Journal
Accession number :: 9342340
Full Text :: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.22.11935