An international team of researchers, led by Durham University in the UK, has uncovered previously unknown ways in which nature encodes biological information in a DNA sequence by deciphering the mechanical code of DNA. The team used a next-generation DNA sequencing technique called loop-seq, whi
The mechanical code of DNA refers to the physical properties of DNA that are important for its function as genetic material. These properties include the structure of the double helix, the stability of the base pairing, and the elasticity and flexibility of the molecule. These properties allow DNA to store and transmit genetic information, and they are influenced by various factors such as temperature, humidity, and pH.
Via a large number of measurements, coupled with computational analysis and machine learning, they determined the mechanical code, i.e., the mapping between the local sequence and the local deformability of DNA. Additionally, the researchers found that the mechanical code of DNA can be modified by ‘methylation’, which is a known chemical modification that DNA bases are routinely subject to at various stages in an organism’s development. Aberrant methylation has been linked to several cancers.
The discovery that methylation alters the mechanical code presents the possibility that biological development programs, or diseases such as cancer, could be achieving a part of their effects on cells by altering the information encoded via the mechanical code.
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