Predicting knot or catenane type of site-specific recombination products

J Mol Biol. 2007 Dec 14;374(5):1186-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2007.10.016. Epub 2007 Oct 13.

Abstract

Site-specific recombination on supercoiled circular DNA yields a variety of knotted or catenated products. Here, we present a topological model of this process and characterize all possible products of the most common substrates: unknots, unlinks, and torus knots and catenanes. This model tightly prescribes the knot or catenane type of previously uncharacterized data. We also discuss how the model helps to distinguish products of distributive recombination and, in some cases, determine the order of processive recombination products.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • DNA, Superhelical / chemistry*
  • DNA, Superhelical / genetics
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation*
  • Recombination, Genetic*

Substances

  • DNA, Superhelical