From nature to nano: structure, dynamics and reactivity of DNA three-way junctions

双螺旋是DNA的标志性结构，但这种无分支的形式不是体内的活性形式。在沃森和克里克宣布双链DNA结构60年后，考虑到双链DNA的结构和动力学仍然困扰着世界各地的实验学家和理论家，很明显，对分支DNA的研究仍处于起步阶段。该提案的目的是使用尖端的单分子工具来了解纳米级重要分支DNA分子-三通接头的结构和动力学。这些分支物种存在于体内，它们与神经系统疾病有关，并且它们被用作基于DNA的纳米科学的构建模块。该项目将提供有关关键生物过程的信息，并可能导致潜在的药物靶点，合成生物学的新设计策略以及下一代可编程DNA纳米机器的开发。

The double helix is the iconic structure of DNA, but this unbranched form is not the active one in vivo. Considering that the structure and dynamics of duplex DNA still preoccupies experimentalists and theoreticians around the world, sixty years after the structure was announced by Watson and Crick, it is clear that the study of branched DNA is in its infancy. The aim of this proposal is to use cutting-edge single-molecule tools to understand the structure and dynamics of an important branched DNA molecule, the three-way junction, at the nanoscale. These branched species are present in vivo, they are implicated in neurological diseases, and they are used as building blocks in DNA-based nanoscience. The project will give otherwise inaccessible information on key biological processes, and could lead to potential drug targets, to new design strategies for synthetic biology and to the development of the next generation of programmable DNA nanoscale machines.