Abstract
Through direct observation of long deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by means of fluorescence microscopy, we investigated the dynamics of individual DNA chains under alternating current electric fields in concentrated polyacrylamide solutions. By the study on the conformational change of the DNA in a wide range of frequencies, we have noticed the existence of four different regions depending on the frequency, as for the dynamic behavior of the DNA; i.e., linear motion, anti-resonance, stretching, and orienting. The four regions are characterized by the time dependence of the maximum length Rl and the position of the center of mass Gx of the DNA. In the linear motion region, Rl is almost constant, and Gx changes sinusoidally with time. In the anti-resonance region, both Rl and Gx change sinusoidally. In the stretching region, both Rl and Gx are almost constant. In the orienting region, both Rl and Gx are almost constant, but the DNA is not fully stretched. We observed that long DNA molecules with various lengths, ranging from 16 μm to over 200 μm, are elongated in the stretching region, indicating that this stretching phenomenon would be independent of the length of DNA. By the observation of the stretching process, it was found that the asymmetric effect of the electric field is essential for the stretching. We explain such asymmetric effect by using simple tube model.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
K. Morikawa and M. Yanagida, J. Biochem., 89, 693 (1981).
S. B. Smith, P. K. Aldridge, and J. B. Callis, Science, 243, 203 (1989).
D. C. Schwartz and M. Koval, Nature, 338, 520 (1989).
N. J. Rampino and A. Chrambach, Biopolymers, 31, 1297 (1991).
Y. Masubuchi, H. Oana, K. Ono, M. Matsumoto, M. Doi, K. Minagawa, Y. Matsuzawa, and K. Yoshikawa, Macromolecules, 26, 5269 (1993).
H. Oana, Y. Masubuchi, M. Matsumoto, M. Doi, Y. Matsuzawa, and K. Yoshikawa, Macromolecules, 27, 6061 (1994).
X. Shi, R. W. Hammond, and M. D. Morris, Anal. Chem., 67, 3219 (1995).
M. Ueda and Y. Baba, Anal. Sci., 13, 109 (1997).
M. Ueda, H. Oana, Y. Baba, M. Doi, and K. Yoshikawa, Biophys. Chem., 71, 111 (1998).
M. Ueda, K. Yoshikawa, and M. Doi, Polym. J., 29, 1040 (1997).
M. Ueda, Nucl. Acids Res., Symp. Ser., No. 39, 59 (1998).
T. A. Duke, Phys. Rev. Lett., 62, 2877 (1989).
Y. Masubuchi, H. Oana, M. Matsumoto, M. Doi, and K. Yoshikawa, Electrophoresis, 17, 1065 (1996).
S. J. Hubert, G. W. Slater, and J. L. Viovy, Macromolecules, 29, 1006 (1996).
C. Rivetti, M. Guthold, and C. Bustamante, J. Mol. Biol., 264, 919 (1996).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ueda, M., Yoshikawa, K. & Doi, M. Molecular Motion of Long Deoxyribonucleic Acid Chains in a Concentrated Polymer Solution Depending on the Frequency of Alternating Electric Field. Polym J 31, 637–644 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.31.637
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.31.637