dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaAll-or-none switching of transcriptional activity on single DNA molecules caused by a discrete conformational transition
| Authors | Ayako Yamada, Koji Kubo, Tonau Nakai, Kanta Tsumoto, Kenichi Yoshikawa |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0408015 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0408015 |
| DOI | 10.1063/1.1937990 |
Abstract
Recently, it has been confirmed that long duplex DNA molecules with sizes larger than several tens of kilo-base pairs (kbp), exhibit a discrete conformational transition from an elongated coil state to a compact globule state upon the addition of various kinds of chemical species that usually induce DNA condensation. In this study, we performed a single-molecule observation on a large DNA, Lambda ZAP II DNA (ca. 41 kbp), in a solution containing RNA polymerase and substrates along with spermine, a tetravalent cation, at different concentrations, by use of fluorescence staining of both DNA and RNA. We found that transcription, or RNA production, is completely inhibited in the compact state, but is actively performed in the unfolded coil state. Such an all-or-none effect on transcriptional activity induced by the discrete conformational transition of single DNA molecules is discussed in relation to the mechanism of the regulation of large-scale genetic activity.
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"abstract": "Recently, it has been confirmed that long duplex DNA molecules with sizes\nlarger than several tens of kilo-base pairs (kbp), exhibit a discrete\nconformational transition from an elongated coil state to a compact globule\nstate upon the addition of various kinds of chemical species that usually\ninduce DNA condensation. In this study, we performed a single-molecule\nobservation on a large DNA, Lambda ZAP II DNA (ca. 41 kbp), in a solution\ncontaining RNA polymerase and substrates along with spermine, a tetravalent\ncation, at different concentrations, by use of fluorescence staining of both\nDNA and RNA. We found that transcription, or RNA production, is completely\ninhibited in the compact state, but is actively performed in the unfolded coil\nstate. Such an all-or-none effect on transcriptional activity induced by the\ndiscrete conformational transition of single DNA molecules is discussed in\nrelation to the mechanism of the regulation of large-scale genetic activity.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0408015",
"authors": [
"Ayako Yamada",
"Koji Kubo",
"Tonau Nakai",
"Kanta Tsumoto",
"Kenichi Yoshikawa"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.BM",
"q-bio.SC"
],
"doi": "10.1063/1.1937990",
"title": "All-or-none switching of transcriptional activity on single DNA molecules caused by a discrete conformational transition",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0408015"
},
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