Scientists have captured the highest-ever images of DNA, revealing complex and squirming behavior never seen before.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA, can be highly active when accumulated and contaminated within a cell, according to a new research published in Nature Communications. These hidden motions were revealed by computer simulations fed by the highest ever images taken of a single molecule of DNA. The new study reveals previously unseen behaviors in the self-replicating molecules, and this research could lead to the development of powerful new genetic therapies.
“Seeing is believing, but with something as small as DNA, seeing the molecular structure of DNA molecules was very challenging,” said Alice Pyne, the paper’s first author and materials scientist at University of Sheffield, in a statement from the university. “The videos we have developed allow us to twist DNA to a level of detail that has never been seen before. ”
Scientists are on it before they used microscopes to look at DNA and their ladder-like shape, but these were limited to static views of the molecule. What scientists have not seen is how the intense coiling of DNA affects its two-helical structure. To achieve this, Pyne and her colleagues combined a high-resolution atomic force (AFM) microscope with computer simulations of molecular dynamics, the writing revealed.
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Long, organized strands of DNA are tightly packed inside our cells. As the new study shows, this leads to some incredibly dynamic physical behaviors.
Agnes Noy, a lecturer at York University and co-author of the study, said the microscopy images and computer simulations matched so well that they inspired the solution of their experiments, allowing the team to track on how each atom of the double helix of DNA dances. “
For the study, the researchers analyzed DNA minicircles, in which small strands are attached at each end, forming a loop structure. DNA minicircles have been reported previously, and are believed to be important indicators of health.
Microscopic images of DNA minicircles in their “quiet” (i.e. no-twist) positions showed little movement, but additional pairs gave the loop alive, resulting in stronger movements. These dynamic movements may be an important factor, helping the DNA to find binding partners and enable growth.
The new atomic force microscope shows, “with remarkable precision,” “DNA wrinkled, bubbled, kinked, denatured, and in strange shape” to the DNA minicircles, “which we hope to be able to control to hold it sometime, ”biologist Baylor College of Medicine Lynn Zechiedrich, who provided the minicircles for the study, said in a Sheffield University statement.
Indeed, further insights into DNA, and how it can be so rigorous, could lead to the development of entirely new medical interventions, including DNA-based diagnostics and therapeutic treatment, according to the researchers.