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Catching DNA with hoops—biophysical approaches to clarify the mechanism of SMC proteins

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 24, pages 1012–1020 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) complexes are central regulators of chromosome architecture that are essential in all domains of life. For decades, the structural biology field has been debating how these conserved protein complexes use their intricate ring-like structures to structurally organize DNA. Here, we review the contributions of single-molecule biophysical approaches to resolving the molecular mechanism of SMC protein function.

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Figure 1: Architecture of SMC complexes.
Figure 2: Mechanisms of SMC-complex function.
Figure 3: Experimental setups of single-molecule approaches.
Figure 4: SMC complex configurations.
Figure 5: SMC-mediated DNA compaction visualized by magnetic tweezers.
Figure 6: SMC motion on flow-stretched DNA.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Haering, S. Bisht, A. Katan, J. Ryu, S. Pud, Y. Kabiri, and A. Japaridze for discussions. This work was funded by the ERC Advanced Grant SynDiv (ERC-ADG-2014 669598) and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO/OCW) as part of the Frontiers of Nanoscience program.

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  1. Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Jorine Eeftens & Cees Dekker

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Eeftens, J., Dekker, C. Catching DNA with hoops—biophysical approaches to clarify the mechanism of SMC proteins. Nat Struct Mol Biol 24, 1012–1020 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.3507

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