Divalent counterion-induced condensation of triple-strand DNA

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 107; no. 50; pp. 21482 - 21486
• Main Authors: Qiu, Xiangyun, Parsegian, V. Adrian, Rau, Donald C., Baldwin, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 14.12.2010; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Animals; Biological Sciences; Cations; Cations, Divalent - chemistry; Cells; Chickens; Condensation; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Divalent cations; DNA; DNA - chemistry; Electrostatics; Ions; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Nucleic acids; Polyelectrolytes; rev genes; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Salts; Temperature; Thermodynamics; X ray diffraction

Understanding and manipulation of the forces assembling DNA/RNA helices have broad implications for biology, medicine, and physics. One subject of significance is the attractive force between dsDNA mediated by polycations of valence ≥3. Despite extensive studies, the physical origin of the "lik...