Scientists have captured the highest-resolution images ever taken of DNA, revealing twisting and twisting behaviors that had never been seen before.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA, can be surprisingly active when piled up and contorted inside a cell. research published in Nature Communications. These hidden motions were revealed by computer simulations fed with the highest resolution images ever taken from a single DNA molecule. The new study exposes behaviors not previously seen in the self-replicating molecule, and this research could end up with the development of new potent gene therapies.
“Seeing is believing, but with something as small as DNA, seeing the helical structure of the entire DNA molecule was extremely difficult,” said Alice Pyne, the University’s first paper author and materials scientist. of Sheffield. of the university. “The videos we’ve developed allow us to observe the deformation of DNA with a level of detail that had never been seen before.”
Scientists do previously they used microscopes to look at DNA and its twisted configuration in the form of a scale, but they were limited to static views of the molecule. What scientists have not been able to see is how the intense winding of DNA affects its double helix structure. To achieve this, Pyne and colleagues combined high-resolution atomic force (AFM) microscopy with computer simulations of molecular dynamics, which revealed contortion.
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Long, highly organized strands of DNA pile up tightly within our cells. As the new study shows, this results in surprisingly dynamic physical behaviors.
Agnes Noy, a professor at York University and co-author of the study, said the microscopy images and computer simulations matched so well that they increased the resolution of her experiments, allowing the team to “track how each atom of the double helix of DNA dances “.
For the study, the researchers analyzed DNA mini-circles, in which a small strand joins at both ends, forming a loop structure. DNA mini-circles have been described before and are believed to be important indicators of health.
Microscopic images of DNA minicircles in their “relaxed” position (i.e., without twists) revealed very little movement, but the additional twists gave life to the loop, resulting in more vigorous movements. These dynamic movements can have an important purpose, helping DNA find binding partners and facilitate growth.
The new atomic force microscopy shows, “in remarkable detail,” how “really wrinkled, bubbled, embossed, denatured, and strangely shaped” are the DNA mini-circles, “which we hope to be able to control someday,” biologist Baylor College of Medicine Lynn Zechiedrich, who supplied the mini-circles for the study, said in a statement from the University of Sheffield.
In fact, other knowledge about DNA and how it can become so compact can lead to the development of completely new medical interventions, including DNA-based diagnostics and therapies, according to the researchers.