Dietmar Porschke

Bio: Dietmar Porschke is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Dipole & Electric field. The author has an hindex of 34, co-authored 123 publications receiving 4093 citations.

Mechanism of intercalation into the DNA double helix by ethidium

Abstract: The mechanism of intercalation into DNA double helices by ethidium has been analyzed by temperature-jump relaxation and stopped-flow measurements using fluorescence detection. Artifacts due to field- or flow-induced alignment have been eliminated by measurements under magic angle conditions; the theoretical basis for suppression of orientation effects resulting from external forces is given for the case of fluorescence measurements. Excluded site effects have been avoided by restriction to low degrees of binding. The temperature-jump relaxation observed for ethidium binding to DNA could be described by single exponentials under most conditions. The reciprocal time constants increased linearly with the DNA concentration, leading to association rate constants of 2.7 x 10(6) M-1 s-1 at 12 degrees C. These rate constants are virtually independent of the DNA chain length for samples with 200, 500, 4228, and 30,000 base pairs, showing that the rate is controlled by reaction and not by a diffusive process. At high DNA concentrations around 200 microM, an additional relaxation effect with an amplitude opposite to the main one is observed which is probably due to some conformational change of the DNA-ethidium complex. The results obtained by stopped-flow measurements are consistent with those from T-jump measurements, but owing to higher amplitudes and better signal to noise ratios, the stopped-flow data clearly require two exponentials for satisfactory representation. The reciprocal time constants for both processes increase linearly with the DNA concentration. The simplest mechanism consistent with this result involves parallel formation of two different complexes with a direct transfer of ethidium between the binding sites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Thermodynamics and kinetics of the helix-coil transition of oligomers containing GC base pairs

Abstract: Absorbance-temperature profiles have been determined for the following self-complementary oligonucleotides or equimolar paris of complementary oligonucleotides containing GC base pairs: A2GCU2, A3GCU3, A4GCU4, A6CG + CGU6, A8CG + CGU8, A4G2 + C2U4, A5G2 + C2U5, A4G3 + C3U4, and A5G3 + C3U5. In all cases cooperative melting transitions indicate double-helix formation. As was found previously, the stability of GC containing oligomer helices is much higher than that of AU helices of corresponding length. Moreover, helices with the same length and base composition but different sequences also have quite different stabilites. The melting curves were andlyzed using a zipper model and the thermodynamic parameters for the AU pairs determined previously. The effect of single-strand stacking was considered separately. According to this model, the formation of a GC pair from unstacked single strands is associated with an ethalpy change of −15 kcal/mole. Due to the high degree of single-strand stacking at room temperature the enthalpy change for the formation of GC pairs from unstacked single strands is only −5 to −6 kcal/mole. (The corresponding parameters for AU pairs are −10.7 kcal/mole and −5 to −6 kcal/mole.) The sequence dependence of helix stability seems to be primarily entropic since no differences in ΔH were seen among the sequence isomers. The kinetics of helix formation was investigated for the same molecules using the temperature jump technique. Recombination of strands is second order with rate constants in the range of 105 to 107M−1 sec−1 depending on the chain length and the nucleotide sequence. Within a series of oligomers of a given type, the rates of recombination decrease with increasing chain length. Oligomers with the sequence AnGCUn recombine six to eight times slower than the other oligomers of corresponding chain length. The experimental enthalpies of activation of 6 to 9 kcal/mole suggest a nucleation length of one or two GC base pairs. The helix dissociation process has rate constants between 0.5 and 500 sec−1 and enthalpies of activation of 25 to 50 kcal/mole. An increase of chain length within a given nucleotide series leads to decreased rates of dissociation and increased enthalpies of activation. An investigation of the effect of ionic strength on AnGCUn helix formation showed that the rates of recombination increase considerably with increased ionic strength.

Dynamics of DNA condensation.

Abstract: The condensation of DNA induced by spermine and spermidine is investigated by equilibrium titrations and stopped-flow and field-jump experiments using scattered light detection. The spermine concentration required for the cooperative condensation process is measured at different DNA concentrations; these data are used to evaluate both the condensation threshold degree of spermine binding and the binding constant of spermine according to an excluded-site model. Stopped-flow measurements of the spermine-induced condensation demonstrate the existence of two processes: (1) A "fast" reaction is observed in the millisecond time range, when the reactant concentrations are around 1 microM; it is associated with a characteristic induction period and is assigned to the intramolecular condensation reaction. (2) A slow reaction with time constants of, e.g., 100 s strongly dependent upon both spermine and DNA concentrations is assigned to an intermolecular DNA association. The unusual time course of the intramolecular condensation reaction with the induction period provides evidence for a "threshold kinetics". During the induction period, spermine molecules are bound to DNA, but the degree of binding remains below the threshold value. As soon as the degree of ligand binding arrives at the threshold, the DNA is condensed in a relatively fast reaction. Model calculations of the spermine binding kinetics according to an excluded-site model demonstrate that the spermine molecules bound to DNA are mobile along the double helix. A comparison of the experimental data with the results of Monte Carlo simulations suggests a rate constant of approximately 200 s-1 for spermine movement by one nucleotide residue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Base-Stacking Interactions

Abstract: The thermodynamics and kinetics of the self-association of N6, N9-dimethyladenine has been studied as a model system for base stacking. Molal osmotic coefficients have been determined by vapor pressure osmometry in aqueous solutions at four different temperatures. These data, indicating a very high degree of association much beyond the dimer stage, are consistent with a series of consecutive equivalent association processes. The analysis is performed with an isodesmic model, which allows for cooperativity of the first binding step. Cooperativity can almost be neglected in the present case; the thermodynamic parameters for the formation of stacks are ΔH°=– 8.7 (° 1.5) kcal/mol and ΔS°=– 21.6 cal/K resulting in a stability constant K= 60 at 20°C. The kinetics of base stacking has been investigated by means of sound absorption techniques in the 10–100 MHz frequency range. The excess absorption profiles are only slightly broader than theoretically expected for a single relaxation process. The data can be explained by an isodesmic kinetic model. Formation of stacks proceeds with a rate constant of about 109 M−1 sec−1 and an activation enthalpy of + 6 kcal/mol. Evaluation of the amplitudes leads to a volume change of 6.8 ml (at 25°C) per mol of stacking sites. The volume change decreases with increasing temperature. Optical measurements in a pressure cell show that the volume decreases with increasing number of stacks. These results are discussed with respect to current theories of base stacking. Both ΔH and ΔV found for the stacking equilibrium are in contrast to the thermodynamic parameters of hydro-phobic interactions according to the standard view. The present data demonstrate a characteristic difference of hydrophobic interactions between unpolar, unpolarisable particles like simple hydrocarbons and between compounds like nucleic acid bases with high polarisability and a dipole structure.

Principles of Neural Science

Abstract: I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Molecular Beacons: Probes that Fluoresce upon Hybridization

Abstract: We have developed novel nucleic acid probes that recognize and report the presence of specific nucleic acids in homogeneous solutions. These probes undergo a spontaneous fluorogenic conformational change when they hybridize to their targets. Only perfectly complementary targets elicit this response, as hybridization does not occur when the target contains a mismatched nucleotide or a deletion. The probes are particularly suited for monitoring the synthesis of specific nucleic acids in real time. When used in nucleic acid amplification assays, gene detection is homogeneous and sensitive, and can be carried out in a sealed tube. When introduced into living cells, these probes should enable the origin, movement, and fate of specific mRNAs to be traced.

Selforganization of matter and the evolution of biological macromolecules

Abstract: IA. Cause and Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 1.2. Prerequisites of Selforganization . . . . . . . 467 1.2.3. Evolut ion Must S ta r t f rom R andom Even ts 467 1.2.2. Ins t ruc t ion Requires In format ion . . . . 467 1.2.3. In format ion Originates or Gains Value by S e l e c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469 1.2.4. Selection Occurs wi th Special Substances under Special Conditions . . . . . . . . 470

The molecular theory of polyelectrolyte solutions with applications to the electrostatic properties of polynucleotides.

Abstract: Although the importance of the polyelectrolyte character of DNA has been recognized for some time (Felsenfeld & Miles 1967), few of the implications have been explored, primarily because of a lag in translating the breakthroughs in polyelectrolyte theory of the last decade into a form that is well adapted to the analysis of the specialized problems of biophysical chemistry. Perhaps an analogous situation existed in the field of protein chemistry during the period after the formulation and confirmation of the Debye—Huckel theory of ionic solutions but before Scatchard's incorporation of the theory into his analysis of the binding properties of proteins. An achievement for polynucleotide solutions parallel to Scatchard's was recently presented by Record, Lohman, & de Haseth (1976) and further developed and reviewed by Record, Anderson & Lohman (1978).

What controls the melting properties of DNA-linked gold nanoparticle assemblies?

Abstract: We report a series of experiments and a theoretical model designed to systematically define and evaluate the relative importance of nanoparticle, oligonucleotide, and environmental variables that contribute to the observed sharp melting transitions associated with DNA-linked nanoparticle structures. These variables include the size of the nanoparticles, the surface density of the oligonucleotides on the nanoparticles, the dielectric constant of the surrounding medium, target concentration, and the position of the nanoparticles with respect to one another within the aggregate. The experimental data may be understood in terms of a thermodynamic model that attributes the sharp melting to a cooperative mechanism that results from two key factors: the presence of multiple DNA linkers between each pair of nanoparticles and a decrease in the melting temperature as DNA strands melt due to a concomitant reduction in local salt concentration. The cooperative melting effect, originating from short-range duplex-to-duplex interactions, is independent of DNA base sequences studied and should be universal for any type of nanostructured probe that is heavily functionalized with oligonucleotides. Understanding the fundamental origins of the melting properties of DNA-linked nanoparticle aggregates (or monolayers) is of paramount importance because these properties directly impact one's ability to formulate high sensitivity and selectivity DNA detection systems and construct materials from these novel nanoparticle materials.