Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42146368›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

MACRO-MOLECULAR CROWDING FAVORS WRITHE IN UNWOUND DNA.

Jin Qian, Zachary Z Montgomerie, Andrew J Spakowitz, David Dunlap, Laura Finzi

Abstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Jin QianDepartment of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322. Current address: NIDDK, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Zachary Z MontgomerieDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA.
Andrew J SpakowitzDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA.
David DunlapDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
Laura FinziDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1173-5339

Funding

The lambda bacteriophage regulatory loopR01GM084070 · NIGMS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI FINZI, LAURA · 2009 to 2021
$4.1M
Macromolecular Crowding effects on DNA mechanics, topology and transcriptionR35GM149296 · NIGMS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Laura Finzi · 2023 to 2026
$1.5M
NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM084070NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM149296
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Genomic DNA is subject to forces and torsion. Some arise mechanically, while others can be entropic, such as those due to crowding within the nuclear environment. Indeed, about 30-40% of the cell is occupied by molecules other than water, and of these, the vast majority are macromolecules. Here, we explore both experimentally and theoretically the interplay between tension, torsion, and macromolecular crowding. Using pharmaceutically relevant crowders of different molecular weights, Dextran 70, and polyethylene glycol (PEG), we observed that macromolecular crowding of unwound, stretched DNA effectively opposed the tension and promoted the formation of plectonemes. A theoretical model representing the equilibrium between

Identifiers

PMID42146368
PMCPMC13174320

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.