Mg2+‐Dependent High Mechanical Anisotropy of Three‐Way‐Junction pRNA as Revealed by Single‐Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Y Sun, W Di, Y Li, W Huang, X Wang… - Angewandte Chemie …, 2017 - Wiley Online Library
Y Sun, W Di, Y Li, W Huang, X Wang, M Qin, W Wang, Y Cao
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2017Wiley Online Library
Mechanical anisotropy is ubiquitous in biological tissues but is hard to reproduce in
synthetic biomaterials. Developing molecular building blocks with anisotropic mechanical
response is the key towards engineering anisotropic biomaterials. The three‐way‐junction
(3WJ) pRNA, derived from ϕ29 DNA packaging motor, shows strong mechanical anisotropy
upon Mg2+ binding. In the absence of Mg2+, 3WJ‐pRNA is mechanically weak without
noticeable mechanical anisotropy. In the presence of Mg2+, the unfolding forces can differ …
Abstract
Mechanical anisotropy is ubiquitous in biological tissues but is hard to reproduce in synthetic biomaterials. Developing molecular building blocks with anisotropic mechanical response is the key towards engineering anisotropic biomaterials. The three‐way‐junction (3WJ) pRNA, derived from ϕ29 DNA packaging motor, shows strong mechanical anisotropy upon Mg2+ binding. In the absence of Mg2+, 3WJ‐pRNA is mechanically weak without noticeable mechanical anisotropy. In the presence of Mg2+, the unfolding forces can differ by more than 4‐fold along different pulling directions, ranging from about 47 pN to about 219 pN. Mechanical anisotropy of 3WJ‐pRNA stems from pulling direction dependent cooperativity for the rupture of two Mg2+ binding sites, which is a novel mechanism for the mechanical anisotropy of biomacromolecules. It is anticipated that 3WJ‐pRNA can be used as a key element for the construction of biomaterials with controllable mechanical anisotropy.
Wiley Online Library
以上显示的是最相近的搜索结果。 查看全部搜索结果