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Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 018102 (2008) [4 pages]

DNA Bending Stiffness on Small Length Scales

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Chongli Yuan1, Huimin Chen2, Xiong Wen Lou1, and Lynden A. Archer1
1School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
2Department of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Received 16 April 2007; published 7 January 2008

Bending properties of short (15–90 bp), double-stranded DNA fragments are quantified using fluorescence resonance energy transfer and small angle x-ray scattering. Results from both types of measurements indicate that short double-stranded DNA fragments exhibit surprisingly high flexibility. These observations are discussed in terms of base-pair-level length fluctuations originating from dynamic features of Watson-Crick base pairs.

© 2008 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.018102
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.018102
PACS:
87.14.G−, 87.10.−e
 
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