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Compaction of DNA in solutions of highly charged proteins carrying the same charge as DNA

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Abstract

The theory of DNA compaction in solutions of highly charged proteins carrying charge of the same sign as DNA is developed. It is shown that the introduction of a negatively charged protein may induce the collapse of DNA that occurs as a first-order phase transition. The concentration of protein in the vicinity of DNA practically coincides with the concentration of protein in solution on the whole, and the introduction of protein into a solution is equivalent to the effective worsening of solvent quality. The higher the absolute value of the protein charge, the more pronounced this worsening. The higher the charge of the protein, the smaller its content that causes the compaction of DNA. The properties of the transition depend on the effective charge of DNA and on the concentration of a low-molecular-mass salt. An increase in the concentration of the salt may weaken the action of protein as a compaction agent and cause the reverse transition of a DNA macromolecule to the coiled state.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    M. K. Krotova & A. R. Khokhlov

  2. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vavilova 28, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    V. V. Vasilevskaya & A. R. Khokhlov

Authors
  1. M. K. Krotova
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  2. V. V. Vasilevskaya
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  3. A. R. Khokhlov
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Correspondence to V. V. Vasilevskaya.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © M.K. Krotova, V.V. Vasilevskaya, A.R. Khokhlov, 2012, published in Vysokomolekulyarnye Soedineniya, Ser. C, 2012, Vol. 54, No. 7, pp. 985–993.

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 11-03-00320-a), by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the Division of Chemistry and Materials Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, within basic-research program Creation and Study of Macromolecules and Macromolecular Structures of New Generations.

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Krotova, M.K., Vasilevskaya, V.V. & Khokhlov, A.R. Compaction of DNA in solutions of highly charged proteins carrying the same charge as DNA. Polym. Sci. Ser. C 54, 21–29 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1811238212020014

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