It’s not just you dancing after Boris’s announcement… your DNA is too!
With the highest resolution images ever seen of a single molecule of DNA, scientists can see how they appear to ‘dance’. This dance-like movement is caused by the stress and strains placed on the DNA. When crammed inside cells, small circles of DNA change shape and perform these movements.
The scientists from Universities of Sheffield, Leeds and York used supercomputer simulations to move from static images to videos of the double helix structure. Comparing relaxed DNA with loops of DNA that are twisted and coiled they saw that it was only the coiled DNA that danced. This twisting is how two metres of DNA fits into every human cell, and is also what’s causing more dynamic movement than the relaxed DNA.
The research was done on loops of DNA known as minicircles as it allowed to create an extra loop which enhanced the dance-like movement. They found the exotic dance-moves were key in finding binding partners for the DNA, with other molecules finding it more attractive when they can create a wide range of shapes.
Dr Alice Pyne, from the University of Sheffield, who captured the footage, said: “Seeing is believing, but with something as small as DNA, seeing the helical structure of the entire DNA molecule was extremely challenging.”
“The videos we have developed enable us to observe DNA twisting in a level of detail that has never been seen before.”
The ability to study DNA on this tiny scale and in so much detail is exciting progress that could accelerate development of gene therapies. As Dr Sarah Harris, Associate Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds, explained:
“The laws of physics apply just as well to the tiny looped DNA as to sub-atomic particles and galaxies. We can use supercomputers to understand the physics of twisted DNA. This should help researchers such as Professor Zechiedrich design bespoke minicircles for future therapies.”
