End-to-end stacking and liquid crystal condensation of 6-to 20-base pair DNA duplexes
End-to-end stacking and liquid crystal condensation of 6-to 20-base pair DNA duplexes
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1143826
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发表时间：
2007-11-23
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Clark, Noel A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Nakata, Michi;Zanchetta, Giuliano;Clark, Noel A.
短的互补B型DNA寡聚体，长度为6至20个碱基对，被发现表现出双列和柱状液晶相，即使这样的双链体缺乏液晶有序所需的形状各向异性。结构研究表明，这些阶段产生的端到端的粘附和随后堆叠的双低聚物成多分散各向异性的棒状聚集体，它可以订购成液晶。在冷却短DNA寡聚体的混合溶液时，其中仅存在一小部分DNA是互补的，形成双链的寡聚体相分离成液晶液滴，在各向同性溶液中留下未配对的单链。在可能进行低聚物连接的化学环境中，这种排序和缩合将提供自催化连接，从而互补性促进互补低聚物的延长聚合。
Short complementary B-form DNA oligomers, 6 to 20 base pairs in length, are found to exhibit nematic and columnar liquid crystal phases, even though such duplexes lack the shape anisotropy required for liquid crystal ordering. Structural study shows that these phases are produced by the end-to-end adhesion and consequent stacking of the duplex oligomers into polydisperse anisotropic rod-shaped aggregates, which can order into liquid crystals. Upon cooling mixed solutions of short DNA oligomers, in which only a small fraction of the DNA present is complementary, the duplex-forming oligomers phase-separate into liquid crystal droplets, leaving the unpaired single strands in isotropic solution. In a chemical environment where oligomer ligation is possible, such ordering and condensation would provide an autocatalytic link whereby complementarity promotes the extended polymerization of complementary oligomers.