Presenter(s): Maya Pande—Biochemistry, Political Science
Co-Presenter(s): Anabel Chang
Faculty Mentor(s): Andrew Marcus
Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation
The Marcus Group conducts studies on the dynamics of macromolecules in biological environments . In our experiments, we used a variety of techniques to analyze the structure of DNA with the overall goal of better understanding the conformations it can take . Our studies were focused in two areas: (1) understanding the mechanisms of DNA breathing, and (2) conducting experiments on the stabilizing and destabilizing properties of salt solutions on DNA . Techniques included circular and linear dichroism, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) . Determining the structure of DNA is crucial to understanding biochemical and molecular events essential for gene expression and DNA replication . For these processes to occur, various proteins must access ssDNA coding templates which are otherwise inaccessible due to complementary base pairing in dsDNA . Proteins rely on thermal fluctuations in the DNA double-stranded region at physiological temperatures known as DNA ‘breathing’ . Studies are ongoing, but thus far have led us to a better understanding of the energetic favorability of various conformations of DNA .