https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2007-10205-5
Regular Article
DNA ejection from bacteriophage: Towards a general behavior for osmotic-suppression experiments
1
Laboratoire Joliot-Curie et Laboratoire de Physique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364, Lyon cedex 07, France
2
Department of Biochemistry, Center of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, S-221 00, Lund, Sweden
* e-mail: martin.castelnovo@ens-lyon.fr
Received:
5
April
2007
Accepted:
9
July
2007
Published online:
31
August
2007
We present in this work in vitro measurements of the force ejecting DNA from two distinct bacteriophages (T5 and λ using the osmotic-suppression technique. Our data are analyzed by revisiting the current theories of DNA packaging in spherical capsids. In particular we show that a simplified analytical model based on bending considerations only is able to account quantitatively for the experimental findings. Physical and biological consequences are discussed.
PACS: 82.35.Lr Physical properties of polymers – / 82.39.Pj Nucleic acids, DNA and RNA bases – / 82.39.Rt Reactions in complex biological systems – / 82.60.Lf Thermodynamics of solutions –
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag, 2007
