Titre
DNA supercoiling and its role in DNA decatenation and unknotting.
Type
article
Institution
UNIL/CHUV/Unisanté + institutions partenaires
Périodique
Auteur(s)
Witz, G.
Auteure/Auteur
Stasiak, A.
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
Liens vers les unités
ISSN
1362-4962[electronic], 0305-1048[linking]
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2010
Volume
38
Numéro
7
Première page
2119
Dernière page/numéro d’article
2133
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Chromosomal and plasmid DNA molecules in bacterial cells are maintained under torsional tension and are therefore supercoiled. With the exception of extreme thermophiles, supercoiling has a negative sign, which means that the torsional tension diminishes the DNA helicity and facilitates strand separation. In consequence, negative supercoiling aids such processes as DNA replication or transcription that require global- or local-strand separation. In extreme thermophiles, DNA is positively supercoiled which protects it from thermal denaturation. While the role of DNA supercoiling connected to the control of DNA stability, is thoroughly researched and subject of many reviews, a less known role of DNA supercoiling emerges and consists of aiding DNA topoisomerases in DNA decatenation and unknotting. Although DNA catenanes are natural intermediates in the process of DNA replication of circular DNA molecules, it is necessary that they become very efficiently decatenated, as otherwise the segregation of freshly replicated DNA molecules would be blocked. DNA knots arise as by-products of topoisomerase-mediated intramolecular passages that are needed to facilitate general DNA metabolism, including DNA replication, transcription or recombination. The formed knots are, however, very harmful for cells if not removed efficiently. Here, we overview the role of DNA supercoiling in DNA unknotting and decatenation.
PID Serval
serval:BIB_0F19F8CEC35D
PMID
Open Access
Oui
Date de création
2010-01-27T17:07:08.561Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-20T17:42:10Z
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Nom
BIB_0F19F8CEC35D.P001.pdf
Version du manuscrit
preprint
Taille
8.98 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
PID Serval
serval:BIB_0F19F8CEC35D.P001
URN
urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_0F19F8CEC35D4
Somme de contrôle
(MD5):24a1ade8c0caf3b3d3bc10500a8ce4c1