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DNA orientation during gel electrophoresis and its relation to electrophoretic mobility
Author(s) -
Hurley Ian
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.360250403
Subject(s) - reptation , electrophoresis , gel electrophoresis of nucleic acids , chemistry , gel electrophoresis , agarose gel electrophoresis , agarose , pulsed field gel electrophoresis , dna , analytical chemistry (journal) , chromatography , polymer , biochemistry , organic chemistry , genotype , gene
Abstract Intensities of polarized fluorescence from ethidium bound to phage λ DNA undergoing agarose gel electrophoresis were measured. The intensities were strongly field dependent at voltage gradients of 8 V/cm, consistent with a partial orientation of DNA helices in the direction of electrophoresis about 500 times larger than seen in the same field in solution. Such an orientation was predicted by a reptation model of gel electrophoresis advanced by Lumpkin et al. [(1985) Biopolymers , 24 , 1573–1593]. The present results can be fit successfully to this theory with a single adjustable parameter, the gel–DNA contact distance. Also, λ DNA electrophoretic mobilities in the same concentration gel were determined using the same buffer system. Both orientation and mobility measurements can be fit to the reptation theory within a factor of two using the same values of two parameters, the gel–DNA contact distance and the ratio of DNA charge to frictional coefficient.