Protein/DNA interactions in complex DNA topologies: expect the unexpected

DNA supercoiling results in compacted DNA structures that can bring distal sites into close proximity. It also changes the local structure of the DNA, which can in turn influence the way it is recognised by drugs, other nucleic acids and proteins. Here, we discuss how DNA supercoiling and the formation of complex DNA topologies can affect the thermodynamics of DNA recognition. We then speculate on the implications for transcriptional control and the three-dimensional organisation of the genetic material, using examples from our own simulations and from the literature. We introduce and discuss the concept of coupling between the multiple length-scales associated with hierarchical nuclear structural organisation through DNA supercoiling and topology

Comparison of Molecular Contours for Measuring Writhe in Atomistic Supercoiled DNA

DNA molecular center-lines designed from atomistic-resolution structures are compared for the evaluation of the writhe in supercoiled DNA using molecular dynamics simulations of two sets of minicircles with 260 and 336 base pairs. We present a new method called WrLINE that systematically filters out local (i.e., subhelical turn) irregularities using a sliding-window averaged over a single DNA turn and that provides a measure of DNA writhe that is suitable for comparing atomistic resolution data with those obtained from measurements of the global molecular shape. In contrast, the contour traced by the base-pair origins defined by the 3DNA program largely overestimates writhe due to the helical periodicity of DNA. Nonetheless, this local modulation of the molecular axis emerges as an internal mechanism for the DNA to confront superhelical stress, where the adjustment between low and high twist is coupled to a high and low local periodicity, respectively, mimicking the different base-stacking conformational space of A and B canonical DNA forms