Abstract
It is well established that the structure1,2 as well as the stability of the DNA duplex is affected by supercoiling. Supercoiled DNA has been shown to possess increased stability and is thus characterized by an elevated melting temperature as well as a broader melting transition. Thermal melting analysis has been the most widely used method for studying the structural and dynamic properties of complex DNA species. Here we report a remarkable attribute of supercoiled DNA, that the width of the melting transition of superhelical DNA does not depend appreciably on the relative stabilities of its A·T and G·C base pairs.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Belintsev, B. N., Gagua, A. V. & Nedospasov, S. A. Nucleic Acids Res. 6, 983–992 (1979).
Vologodskii, A. V., Anshelevich, V. V., Lukashin, A. V. & Frank-Kamenetskii, M. D. Nature 280, 294–296 (1979).
Vinograd, J., Lebowitz, J. & Watson, R. J. molec. Biol. 33, 173–197 (1968).
Burke, R. L. & Bauer, W. R. Nucleic Acids Res. 5, 4819–4836 (1978).
Melchior, W. B. & von Hippel, P. H. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 70, 298–302 (1973).
Voskoboinik, A. D. et al. Molek. Biol. USSR 9, 783–789 (1975).
Vedenov, A. A., Dykhne, A. M. & Frank-Kamenetskii, M. D. Usp. fiz. Nauk 105, 479–519 (1971).
Bauer, W. R. A. Rev. Biophys. Bioengng 7, 287–313 (1978).
Fuller, F. B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 68, 815–819 (1971).
Frank-Kamenetskii, M. D. & Frank-Kamenetskii, A. D. Molek. Biol. USSR 3, 375–383 (1969).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gagua, A., Belintsev, B. & Lyubchenko, Y. Effect of base-pair stability on the melting of superhelical DNA. Nature 294, 662–663 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294662a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/294662a0
This article is cited by
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
