Crowding Effects on Trincleotide Hairpins

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Jeffrey Petty of Furman University is supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program for a RUI project that aims to evaluate the structure, dynamics, and energetics of trinucleotide repeat hairpins in cell-like environments. Two avenues of study will be pursued. First, single molecule fluorescence energy transfer will be used to measure the distances between chromophores on the DNA strand, providing structural information. Second, the influence of crowding on the energetics of the hairpins will be measured. Through absorption spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the effects of crowding on the free energy, enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity changes for denaturation will be measured. Outcomes are expected to enable new understandings of the effect of DNA sequence and the cellular environment on the types of structures that form from repeated sequences. This project will teach science through research to undergraduates at Furman University. The students will learn to organize and disseminate the outcomes of their research activities through presentations at professional meetings and through publication in the primary literature. The new instruments and experiments will be integrated into laboratory classes, and as well a postdoctoral associate will be mentored for a future faculty career at an undergraduate-focused institution.