Scientists capture high-resolution images of a single DNA MOLECULE

The highest-resolution images of a single DNA molecule ever captured were taken by a team of scientists, and they show atoms “dancing” as they twist and twist.

Researchers at the universities of Sheffield, Leeds and York combined advanced atomic microscopy with supercomputer simulations to create videos of the molecules.

The resolution combined with the simulations allows the team to map and observe the movement and position of each atom in a single strand of DNA.

Being able to observe DNA in such detail could help accelerate the development of new gene therapies, according to the British team behind the study.

The images show in unprecedented detail how stresses and strains placed on DNA when it is crammed inside cells can change shape.

Previously, scientists could only see DNA using microscopes limited to taking static images, the video reveals the movement of atoms.

The images are so detailed that it is possible to see DNA’s iconic double helix structure, but when combined with the simulations, the researchers were able to see the position of each atom in the DNA and how it twists. and twists.

Each human cell contains two meters of DNA, and to fit inside our cells, it has evolved to twist, turn and curl.

This means that looping DNA is all over the genome, forming twisted structures that show more dynamic behavior than their relaxed counterparts.

The team looked at DNA mini-circles, which are special because the molecule is joined at both ends to form a loop.

This loop allowed the researchers to give the DNA mini-circles an extra extra twist, making the DNA dance more vigorously.

When the researchers imagined the DNA relaxed, without any twisting, they saw that it did very little.

However, when they gave the DNA that extra twist it suddenly became much more vibrant and could be seen taking on very exotic forms.

These exotic dance moves have proven to be the key to finding binding partners for DNA, because when they take on a wider range of shapes, then a greater variety of other molecules find it attractive.

Previous research from Stanford has suggested that DNA mini circles are potential indicators of health and aging, and may act as early markers of disease.

Since mini DNA circles can twist and bend, they can also become very compact.

Being able to study DNA in so much detail could accelerate the development of new gene therapies using the way twisted and compacted DNA circles can squeeze into cells.

Dr Alice Pyne, a lecturer on polymers and soft matter at the University of Sheffield, who captured the images, said: ‘Seeing is believing, but with something as small as l DNA, seeing the helical structure of the entire DNA molecule was extremely difficult.

“The videos we have developed allow us to observe DNA twisting in a level of detail never seen before.

Professor Lynn Zechiedrich of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, USA, who made the DNA mini circles used in the study, the work was significant.

“They show, in remarkable detail, how crumpled, bubbly, puckered, distorted and oddly shaped that we hope we can someday control.

Dr Sarah Harris of the University of Leeds, who oversaw the research, said the work shows the laws of physics apply just as much to tiny looping DNA as they do to subatomic particles and entire galaxies.

“We can use supercomputers to understand the physics of twisted DNA. This should help researchers design tailor-made mini circles for future therapies.

The study, Combining high-resolution atomic force microscopy with molecular dynamics simulations, shows that DNA supercoiling induces folds and defects that improve flexibility and recognition, is published in Nature Communications.