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Science 28 April 1989:
Vol. 244. no. 4903, pp. 475 - 477
DOI: 10.1126/science.2470146
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Articles

Science, Vol 244, Issue 4903, 475-477
Copyright © 1989 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Scanning tunneling microscopy of nucleic acids

G Lee, PG Arscott, VA Bloomfield, and DF Evans

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Interfacial, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has been used to measure properties of poly(rA).poly(rU) and DNA, such as helical pitch, half-period oscillations that were interpreted as the alternation between the major and minor grooves, and interhelical spacing. Average pitches were measured by two-dimensional Fourier transforms and by topographic profiles along the fiber axes. Values were typically 7 percent less than standard dimensions of A-form RNA and B-form DNA fibers. This result is compatible with the mild dehydration that occurred under air-drying conditions. More extensive dehydration typically led to 19 percent shrinkage. Analysis of specific regions allowed local variations in helical pitch as small as 1 angstrom to be detected, thus demonstrating that the STM can visualize functionally significant modulations of nucleic acid structure.


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