Equilibrium structure and deformation response of 2D kinetoplast sheets
Name
121.full.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.56 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
79fb7600865ef00236dd1354cce3fc8b
Author(s)
Klotz, Alexander R
Soh, Beatrice W
Doyle, Patrick S
Date Issued
2020
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Version
Final published version
Abstract
© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. The considerable interest in two-dimensional (2D) materials and complex molecular topologies calls for a robust experimental system for single-molecule studies. In this work, we study the equilibrium properties and deformation response of a complex DNA structure called a kinetoplast, a 2D network of thousands of linked rings akin to molecular chainmail. Examined in good solvent conditions, kinetoplasts appear as a wrinkled hemispherical sheet. The conformation of each kinetoplast is dictated by its network topology, giving it a unique shape, which undergoes small-amplitude thermal fluctuations at subsecond timescales, with a wide separation between fluctuation and diffusion timescales. They deform elastically when weakly confined and swell to their equilibrium dimensions when the confinement is released. We hope that, in the same way that linear DNA became a canonical model system on the first investigations of its polymer-like behavior, kinetoplasts can serve that role for 2D and catenated polymer systems.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/PNAS.1911088116
