Kavli Affiliate: Cees Dekker
| First 5 Authors: Pinyao He, Allard J. Katan, Luca Tubiana, Cees Dekker, Davide Michieletto
| Summary:
The Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) is a two-dimensional Olympic-ring-like network of
mutually linked 2.5 kb-long DNA minicircles found in certain parasites called
Trypanosomes. Understanding the self-assembly and replication of this structure
are not only major open questions in biology but can also inform the design of
synthetic topological materials. Here we report the first high-resolution,
single-molecule study of kDNA network topology using AFM and steered molecular
dynamics simulations. We map out the DNA density within the network and the
distribution of linking number and valence of the minicircles. We also
characterise the DNA hubs that surround the network and show that they cause a
buckling transition akin to that of a 2D elastic thermal sheet in the bulk.
Intriguingly, we observe a broad distribution of density and valence of the
minicircles, indicating heterogeneous network structure and individualism of
different kDNA structures. Our findings explain outstanding questions in the
field and offer single-molecule insights into the properties of a unique
topological material.
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