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Ten years of tension: single-molecule DNA mechanics

Nature volume 421, pages 423–427 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The basic features of DNA were elucidated during the half-century following the discovery of the double helix. But it is only during the past decade that researchers have been able to manipulate single molecules of DNA to make direct measurements of its mechanical properties. These studies have illuminated the nature of interactions between DNA and proteins, the constraints within which the cellular machinery operates, and the forces created by DNA-dependent motors.

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Figure 1: Single-molecule assays of replication12, 13.
Figure 2: The elastic behaviour of supercoiled DNA molecules49 forms the basis of single-molecule topoisomerase assays15, 16, 17.
Figure 3: Force generation by DNA-dependent motors.
Figure 4: Mechanically induced structural transitions in twist-constrained DNA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Carlos Bustamante & Zev Bryant

  2. Department of Physics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Carlos Bustamante & Steven B. Smith

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  1. Carlos Bustamante
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  2. Zev Bryant
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  3. Steven B. Smith
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Correspondence to Carlos Bustamante, Zev Bryant or Steven B. Smith.

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Bustamante, C., Bryant, Z. & Smith, S. Ten years of tension: single-molecule DNA mechanics. Nature 421, 423–427 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01405

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