Torque measurement at the single-molecule level

DNA Y structure: a versatile, multidimensional single molecule assay

Optical trapping is a powerful single molecule technique used to study dynamic biomolecular events, especially those involving DNA and DNA-binding proteins. Current implementations usually involve only one of stretching, unzipping, or twisting DNA along one dimension. To expand the capabilities of optical trapping for more complex measurements would require a multidimensional technique that combines all of these manipulations in a single experiment. Here, we report the development and utilization of such a novel optical trapping assay based on a three-branch DNA construct, termed a "Y structure". This multidimensional assay allows precise, real-time tracking of multiple configurational changes. When the Y structure template is unzipped under both force and torque, the force and extension of all three branches can be determined simultaneously. Moreover, the assay is readily compatible with fluorescence, as demonstrated by unzipping through a fluorescently labeled, paused transcription complex. This novel assay thus allows for the visualization and precision mapping of complex interactions of biomechanical events.

Blind predictions of DNA and RNA tweezers experiments with force and torque

Single-molecule tweezers measurements of double-stranded nucleic acids (dsDNA and dsRNA) provide unprecedented opportunities to dissect how these fundamental molecules respond to forces and torques analogous to those applied by topoisomerases, viral capsids, and other biological partners. However, tweezers data are still most commonly interpreted post facto in the framework of simple analytical models. Testing falsifiable predictions of state-of-the-art nucleic acid models would be more illuminating but has not been performed. Here we describe a blind challenge in which numerical predictions of nucleic acid mechanical properties were compared to experimental data obtained recently for dsRNA under applied force and torque. The predictions were enabled by the HelixMC package, first presented in this paper. HelixMC advances crystallography-derived base-pair level models (BPLMs) to simulate kilobase-length dsDNAs and dsRNAs under external forces and torques, including their global linking numbers. These calculations recovered the experimental bending persistence length of dsRNA within the error of the simulations and accurately predicted that dsRNA's “spring-like” conformation would give a two-fold decrease of stretch modulus relative to dsDNA. Further blind predictions of helix torsional properties, however, exposed inaccuracies in current BPLM theory, including three-fold discrepancies in torsional persistence length at the high force limit and the incorrect sign of dsRNA link-extension (twist-stretch) coupling. Beyond these experiments, HelixMC predicted that ‘nucleosome-excluding’ poly(A)/poly(T) is at least two-fold stiffer than random-sequence dsDNA in bending, stretching, and torsional behaviors; Z-DNA to be at least three-fold stiffer than random-sequence dsDNA, with a near-zero link-extension coupling; and non-negligible effects from base pair step correlations. We propose that experimentally testing these predictions should be powerful next steps for understanding the flexibility of dsDNA and dsRNA in sequence contexts and under mechanical stresses relevant to their biology.

DNA and RNA are fundamental molecules in the central dogma of molecular biology. Many biological behaviors of double-stranded DNA and RNA – including transcription/translation by proteins and packaging into compact structures – depend on their ability to flex and twist. Single-molecule tweezers now provide accurate mechanical measurements of DNA and RNA helices under force and torque but have not been used to rigorously falsify and thereby advance computational models. Here we present the first such blind challenge, involving recent dsRNA tweezers data that were kept hidden from modelers and a new HelixMC toolkit that resolves challenges in simulating long double helices from base-pair level models. The predictions gave excellent agreement with bending and stretching measurements of dsRNA but failed to recover twisting properties, pinpointing a critical area of future investigation. HelixMC also predicted that poly(A)/poly(T) and Z-DNA–biologically important variants whose elastic responses have not been studied with tweezers–will have distinct mechanical properties. These results open a route to iteratively falsifying and refining computational models of long nucleic acid helices, as is necessary for attaining a predictive understanding of their biological behaviors.

Nanophotonic trapping for precise manipulation of biomolecular arrays

Optical trapping is a powerful manipulation and measurement technique widely used in the biological and materials sciences. Miniaturizing optical trap instruments onto optofluidic platforms holds promise for high-throughput lab-on-a-chip applications. However, a persistent challenge with existing optofluidic devices has been achieving controlled and precise manipulation of trapped particles. Here, we report a new class of on-chip optical trapping devices. Using photonic interference functionalities, an array of stable, three-dimensional on-chip optical traps is formed at the antinodes of a standing-wave evanescent field on a nanophotonic waveguide. By employing the thermo-optic effect via integrated electric microheaters, the traps can be repositioned at high speed (∼30 kHz) with nanometre precision. We demonstrate sorting and manipulation of individual DNA molecules. In conjunction with laminar flows and fluorescence, we also show precise control of the chemical environment of a sample with simultaneous monitoring. Such a controllable trapping device has the potential to achieve high-throughput precision measurements on chip.

Gold rotor bead tracking for high-speed measurements of DNA twist, torque and extension

Simultaneous measurements of DNA twist and extension have been used to measure physical properties of the double helix and to characterize structural dynamics and mechanochemistry in nucleoprotein complexes. However, the spatiotemporal resolution of twist measurements has been limited by the use of angular probes with large rotational drags, preventing the detection of short-lived intermediates or small angular steps. Here we introduce AuRBT, demonstrating a >100X improvement in time resolution over previous techniques. AuRBT employs gold nanoparticles as bright low-drag rotational and extensional probes, relying on instrumentation that combines magnetic tweezers with objective-side evanescent darkfield microscopy. In an initial application to molecular motor mechanism, we have examined the high-speed structural dynamics of DNA gyrase, revealing an unanticipated transient intermediate. AuRBT also enables direct measurements of DNA torque with >50X shorter integration times than previous techniques; here we demonstrate high-resolution torque spectroscopy by mapping the conformational landscape of a Z-forming DNA sequence.

Dark-field illumination on zero-mode waveguide/microfluidic hybrid chip reveals T4 replisomal protein interactions

The ability of zero-mode waveguides (ZMWs) to guide light energy into subwavelength-diameter cylindrical nanoapertures has been exploited for single-molecule fluorescence studies of biomolecules at micromolar concentrations, the typical dissociation constants for biomolecular interactions. Although epi-fluorescence microscopy is now adopted for ZMW-based imaging as an alternative to the commercialized ZMW imaging platform, its suitability and performance awaits rigorous examination. Here, we present conical lens-based dark-field fluorescence microscopy in combination with a ZMW/microfluidic chip for single-molecule fluorescence imaging. We demonstrate that compared to epi-illumination, the dark-field configuration displayed diminished background and noise and enhanced signal-to-noise ratios. This signal-to-noise ratio for imaging using the dark-field setup remains essentially unperturbed by the presence of background fluorescent molecules at micromolar concentration. Our design allowed single-molecule FRET studies that revealed weak DNA-protein and protein-protein interactions found with T4 replisomal proteins.

Manipulating and probing enzymatic conformational fluctuations and enzyme–substrate interactions by single-molecule FRET-magnetic tweezers microscopy

To investigate the critical role of the enzyme–substrate interactions in enzymatic reactions, the enzymatic conformation and enzyme–substrate interaction at a single-molecule level are manipulated by magnetic tweezers, and the impact of the manipulation on enzyme–substrate interactions are simultaneously probed by single-molecule FRET spectroscopy.

Transcription under torsion

In cells, RNA polymerase (RNAP) must transcribe supercoiled DNA, whose torsional state is constantly changing, but how RNAP deals with DNA supercoiling remains elusive. We report direct measurements of individual Escherichia coli RNAPs as they transcribed supercoiled DNA. We found that a resisting torque slowed RNAP and increased its pause frequency and duration. RNAP was able to generate 11 ± 4 piconewton-nanometers (mean ± standard deviation) of torque before stalling, an amount sufficient to melt DNA of arbitrary sequence and establish RNAP as a more potent torsional motor than previously known. A stalled RNAP was able to resume transcription upon torque relaxation, and transcribing RNAP was resilient to transient torque fluctuations. These results provide a quantitative framework for understanding how dynamic modification of DNA supercoiling regulates transcription.