Single M13 Bacteriophage Tethering and Stretching.
From: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Publish Date: Mar 2007
- ISSN: 0027-8424
- Volume: 104
- Issue: 12
- Pages: 4892-7
- Medium: Print
- Language: English
- Citation (JAMA): Khalil Ahmad S, Ferrer Jorge M, Brau Ricardo R, et al. Single M13 Bacteriophage Tethering and Stretching.. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. Mar 2007;104:4892-7
Abstract
The ability to present biomolecules on the highly organized structure of M13 filamentous bacteriophage is a unique advantage. Where previously this viral template was shown to direct the orientation and nucleation of nanocrystals and materials, here we apply it in the context of single-molecule (SM) biophysics. Genetically engineered constructs were used to display different reactive species at each of the filament ends and along the major capsid, and the resulting hetero-functional particles were shown to consistently tether microscopic beads in solution. With this system, we report the development of a SM assay based on M13 bacteriophage. We also report the quantitative characterization of the biopolymer’s elasticity by using an optical trap with nanometer-scale position resolution. Expanding the fluctuating rod limit of the wormlike chain to incorporate enthalpic polymer stretching yielded a model capable of accurately capturing the full range of extensions. Fits of the force-extension measurements gave a mean persistence length of approximately 1,265 nm, lending SM support for a shorter filamentous bacteriophage persistence length than previously thought. Furthermore, a predicted stretching modulus roughly two times that of dsDNA, coupled with the system’s linkage versatility and load-bearing capability, makes the M13 template an attractive candidate for use in tethered bead architectures.
Mesh Headings (Keywords): Bacteriophage M13, Biomechanics, DNA, Models, Biological
Check for Full Text / PubMed Unique Identifier (PMID): 17360403
This abstract is part of PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed includes more than 17 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles. See Copyright and Disclaimers.
Linked medical terms appearing on this page are added by Healia to help readers find more information and are not part of the original PubMed document.
The data herein was last updated on July 8th, 2008 and may not reflect the most current and accurate data available from NLM.