Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Print PDF (202K) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (12)
Right arrow Commercial Re-use Guidelines
for Open Access NAR Content
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Goobes, R.
Right arrow Articles by Minsky, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Goobes, R.
Right arrow Articles by Minsky, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Nucleic Acids Research, 2002, Vol. 30, No. 10 2154-2161
© 2002 Oxford University Press

Unique condensation patterns of triplex DNA: physical aspects and physiological implications

Rivka Goobes, Orit Cohen and Abraham Minsky*

Department of Organic Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

Triple-stranded DNA structures can be formed in living cells, either by native DNA sequences or following the application of antigene strategies, in which triplex-forming oligonucleotides are targeted to the nucleus. Recent studies imply that triplex motifs may play a role in DNA transcription, recombination and condensation processes in vivo. Here we show that very short triple-stranded DNA motifs, but not double-stranded segments of a comparable length, self-assemble into highly condensed and ordered structures. The condensation process, studied by circular dichroism and polarized-light microscopy, occurs under conditions that mimic cellular environments in terms of ionic strength, ionic composition and crowding. We argue that the unique tendency of triplex DNA structures to self-assemble, a priori unexpected in light of the very short length and the large charge density of these motifs, reflects the presence of strong attractive interactions that result from enhanced ion correlations. The results provide, as such, a direct experimental link between charge density, attractive interactions between like-charge polymers and DNA packaging. Moreover, the observations strongly support the notion that triple-stranded DNA motifs may be involved in the regulation of chromosome organization in living cells.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +972 8 9342003; Fax: +972 8 9344142; Email: avi.minsky{at}weizmann.ac.il


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
S. C. Raghavan, P. Chastain, J. S. Lee, B. G. Hegde, S. Houston, R. Langen, C.-L. Hsieh, I. S. Haworth, and M. R. Lieber
Evidence for a Triplex DNA Conformation at the bcl-2 Major Breakpoint Region of the t(14;18) Translocation
J. Biol. Chem., June 17, 2005; 280(24): 22749 - 22760.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
D. Murphy, R. Eritja, and G. Redmond
Monitoring denaturation behaviour and comparative stability of DNA triple helices using oligonucleotide-gold nanoparticle conjugates
Nucleic Acids Res., April 23, 2004; 32(7): e65 - e65.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
E. Biet, J.-S. Sun, and M. Dutreix
Stimulation of D-loop formation by polypurine/polypyrimidine sequences
Nucleic Acids Res., February 1, 2003; 31(3): 1006 - 1012.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.