Conformational fluctuations in single DNA molecules
- 30 September 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 94 (20) , 10641-10646
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.20.10641
Abstract
Measurement of fluorescent lifetimes of dye-tagged DNA molecules reveal the existence of different conformations. Conformational fluctuations observed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy give rise to a relaxation behavior that is described by “stretched” exponentials and indicates the presence of a distribution of transition rates between two conformations. Whether this is an inhomogeneous distribution, where each molecule contributes with its own reaction rate to the overall distribution, or a homogeneous distribution, where the reaction rate of each molecule is time-dependent, is not yet known. We used a tetramethylrhodamine-linked 217-bp DNA oligonucleotide as a probe for conformational fluctuations. Fluorescence fluctuations from single DNA molecules attached to a streptavidin-coated surface directly show the transitions between two conformational states. The conformational fluctuations typical for single molecules are similar to those seen in single ion channels in cell membranes.Keywords
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