ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2009
Unraveling the structure of DNA during overstretching by using multicolor, single-molecule fluorescence imaging.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 107 papers.
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Who cites it
107 citing papers in PubMed.
- SmartTrap: automated precision experiments with optical tweezers.Nature methods · 2026Article
- Massively parallel bead-free force spectroscopy with fluorescence.Science advances · 2026Article
- Reversible DNA condensation drives natural transformation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Azure A Dye Interaction with Double-Stranded DNA Can Be Modulated by the Ionic Strength: Choosing the Binding Mode.ACS omega · 2026Article
- The effects of DMSO on DNA conformations and mechanics.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
- Article
- FAIR data for optical tweezers experiments.Biophysical journal · 2025Review
- Force-induced melting and S-DNA pathways for DNA overstretching exhibit distinct kinetics.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- TMPyP binding evokes a complex, tunable nanomechanical response in DNA.Nucleic acids research · 2024Article
- Embracing Heterogeneity: Challenging the Paradigm of Replisomes as Deterministic Machines.Chemical reviews · 2023Review
- Twist-stretch relations in nucleic acids.European biophysics journal : EBJ · 2023Article
- Cooperative melting in double-stranded peptide chains through local mechanical interactions.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2023Article
- High-yield ligation-free assembly of DNA constructs with nucleosome positioning sequence repeats for single-molecule manipulation assays.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2023Article
- Low-cost acoustic force trap in a microfluidic channel.HardwareX · 2023Article
- SV40 T-antigen uses a DNA shearing mechanism to initiate origin unwinding.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Smc5/6's multifaceted DNA binding capacities stabilize branched DNA structures.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Single-stranded nucleic acid binding and coacervation by linker histone H1.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2022Article
- Unraveling the Mechanics of a Repeat-Protein Nanospring: From Folding of Individual Repeats to Fluctuations of the Superhelix.ACS nano · 2022Article
- Co-condensation of proteins with single- and double-stranded DNA.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Single-Molecule Methods for Investigating the Double-Stranded DNA Bendability.Molecules and cells · 2022Review
47 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Single-molecule manipulation studies have revealed that double-stranded DNA undergoes a structural transition when subjected to tension. At forces that depend on the attachment geometry of the DNA (65 pN or 110 pN), it elongates approximately 1.7-fold and its elastic properties change dramatically. The nature of this overstretched DNA has been under debate. In one model, the DNA cooperatively unwinds, while base pairing remains intact. In a competing model, the hydrogen bonds between base pairs break and two single DNA strands are formed, comparable to thermal DNA melting. Here, we resolve the structural basis of DNA overstretching using a combination of fluorescence microscopy, optical tweezers, and microfluidics. In DNA molecules undergoing the transition, we visualize double- and single-stranded segments using specific fluorescent labels. Our data directly demonstrate that overstretching comprises a gradual conversion from double-stranded to single-stranded DNA, irrespective of the attachment geometry. We found that these conversions favorably initiate from nicks or free DNA ends. These discontinuities in the phosphodiester backbone serve as energetically favorable nucleation points for melting. When both DNA strands are intact and no nicks or free ends are present, the overstretching force increases from 65 to 110 pN and melting initiates throughout the molecule, comparable to thermal melting. These results provide unique insights in the thermodynamics of DNA and DNA-protein interactions.
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