TY - JOUR
T1 - Helix formation by d(TA) oligomers. II. Analysis of the helix-coil transitions of linear and circular oligomers
AU - Scheffler, Immo E.
AU - Elson, Elliot L.
AU - Baldwin, Robert L.
N1 - Funding Information:
We have profited from the discussiono f this work with several people who may not, however,a greew ith everything we say here. In particular, we would like to acknowledge discueaione of the co-operativity of helix formation with Dr J. A. Scholhnan, of polynucleotide chain conformations with Drs P. J. Flory and G. Feleenfeld, of base stacking with Dr K. E. Van Holde, and also to thank Dr D. M. Crothera for his comments on an earlier versionof themanuscript. One of us (E. L. E.) gratefully acknowledges the encouragement and support (through National Institutes of Health training grant GM-01045) of Dr B. H. Zimm during much of this work. Another author (R. L. B.) wishes to acknowledge support from National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health research grants (GB 4061 and AM 04763, respectively).
PY - 1970/2/28
Y1 - 1970/2/28
N2 - An experimental study has been made of the factors determining the co-operativity of DNA melting, using two types of d(TA) oligomers (linear and circular) with the alternating base sequence... ATAT... The linear oligomers form open hairpin helices which melt chiefly from the open end. The circular oligomers form closed hairpin helices with a loop at each end and melt by enlarging the loops. Analysis of the melting curves for open hairpins (in 0.5 m-Na+, to avoid chainlength dependent electrostatic effects) yields γ, the equilibrium constant for closing the minimum-size loop: γ = 0.003. Interpretation of the equilibrium constant for loop closure is discussed; it can be expressed as the equilibrium constant for formation of an isolated base pair in a bimolecular reaction multiplied by the effective concentration of one base in the vicinity of the other, before the loop is closed. The effective concentration is related to loop size by the loop-weighting function. The melting curves of closed hairpin helices can be used to test the formulation of the loop-weighting function. The results show that for small DNA loops the loop-weighting function differs from that predicted by Jacobson & Stockmayer (1950) for long gaussian chains; the differences are of the type expected for short chains with hindered rotation. Although the closed hairpin helices contain two loops and the open hairpins have only one, nevertheless the closed hairpins are more stable. The reason is a large difference in the conformational entropies of the two random-chain forms: the open circle can assume only a fraction of the conformations available to the linear chain. Since the midpoint of the melting curve (the Tm) depends on the relative stability of helix to random chain, the helix formed by the circular oligomer has the higher Tm. The Tm values of the closed hairpins are higher than predicted by earlier theories: higher, in fact, than the Tm of poly d(AT). The reason is that the minimum-size loops in a closed hairpin helix form more readily than use of the Jacobson-Stockmayer loop-weighting function would predict.
AB - An experimental study has been made of the factors determining the co-operativity of DNA melting, using two types of d(TA) oligomers (linear and circular) with the alternating base sequence... ATAT... The linear oligomers form open hairpin helices which melt chiefly from the open end. The circular oligomers form closed hairpin helices with a loop at each end and melt by enlarging the loops. Analysis of the melting curves for open hairpins (in 0.5 m-Na+, to avoid chainlength dependent electrostatic effects) yields γ, the equilibrium constant for closing the minimum-size loop: γ = 0.003. Interpretation of the equilibrium constant for loop closure is discussed; it can be expressed as the equilibrium constant for formation of an isolated base pair in a bimolecular reaction multiplied by the effective concentration of one base in the vicinity of the other, before the loop is closed. The effective concentration is related to loop size by the loop-weighting function. The melting curves of closed hairpin helices can be used to test the formulation of the loop-weighting function. The results show that for small DNA loops the loop-weighting function differs from that predicted by Jacobson & Stockmayer (1950) for long gaussian chains; the differences are of the type expected for short chains with hindered rotation. Although the closed hairpin helices contain two loops and the open hairpins have only one, nevertheless the closed hairpins are more stable. The reason is a large difference in the conformational entropies of the two random-chain forms: the open circle can assume only a fraction of the conformations available to the linear chain. Since the midpoint of the melting curve (the Tm) depends on the relative stability of helix to random chain, the helix formed by the circular oligomer has the higher Tm. The Tm values of the closed hairpins are higher than predicted by earlier theories: higher, in fact, than the Tm of poly d(AT). The reason is that the minimum-size loops in a closed hairpin helix form more readily than use of the Jacobson-Stockmayer loop-weighting function would predict.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0014965621&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90225-1
DO - 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90225-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 5448587
AN - SCOPUS:0014965621
SN - 0022-2836
VL - 48
SP - 145
EP - 171
JO - Journal of Molecular Biology
JF - Journal of Molecular Biology
IS - 1
ER -