Abstract
We present a technique, 'snapshot blotting,' for the electrophoretic transfer of nucleic acids and nucleoprotein complexes in gel electrophoresis bands onto highly stable carbon film-coated grids for imaging by electron microscopy. The method permits structural analysis of macromolecular species that have been resolved by a gel mobility-shift assay. To demonstrate the efficiency and integrity of the transfer process for a multiprotein-DNA assembly, we have imaged various species of a prokaryotic transcription complex, using the cleavage-defective EcoRI(Q111) protein as an orientation marker and as a blockade of transcription elongation. Snapshot blotting should be of great utility in the structural characterization of nucleic acids and protein-nucleic acid interactions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 6870-6874 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 91 |
Issue number | 15 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 19 1994 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- gel mobility-shift assay
- protein-nucleic acid interactions
- transcription
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General