Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1993 Apr 23;260(5107):533-6.
doi: 10.1126/science.8475384.

Knotting of a DNA chain during ring closure

Affiliations

Knotting of a DNA chain during ring closure

S Y Shaw et al. Science. .

Abstract

The formation of knotted species on random ring closure of two DNAs that are 5.6 kilobase pairs (kbp) and 8.6 kbp in length was measured, and these data were used to calculate the effective DNA helix diameter as a function of sodium ion and magnesium ion concentration. In the presence of more than 50 mM magnesium ion, interactions between DNA segments appear to be attractive rather than repulsive. The free energy of formation of relaxed trefoil and figure-eight DNA knots and of supercoiled trefoil DNA knots was also evaluated.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources