In this section
@article{Stannard:2026:10.1073/pnas.2530949123,
author = {Stannard, A and Haimov, E and Hedley, JG and Xiao, Y and Di, Antonio M and Oshanin, G and Danilowicz, C and Prentiss, M and Di, Michele L and Kornyshev, AA},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2530949123},
journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A},
title = {Direct evidence and quantification of homologous recognition between DNA duplexes.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2530949123},
volume = {123},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Stretches of double-stranded DNA sharing the same sequence can recognize each other in cells. This phenomenon, known as homologous recognition, is essential for DNA recombination and repair. Yet, its mechanism remains debated, with purely physical interactions proposed as a contributing factor. Here, we use a minimal DNA nanosensor to quantify homologous pairwise interactions with exquisite precision. We find that homology enhances the duplex-duplex affinity induced by physiological divalent cations and measure the homology-driven recognition free energy as [Formula: see text] per base pair. This affinity substantially enhances coalignment of homologous DNA in the confined geometry of the nanosensor, which mimics physical effects of concentrated biological environments. We introduce a quantitative electrostatic framework that attributes this emergent behavior to coherent charge distributions unique to homologous DNA. Our findings provide compelling evidence in support of purely physical sequence-specific interactions between intact double-stranded DNA, which may bear biological relevance for homologous recombination.
AU - Stannard,A
AU - Haimov,E
AU - Hedley,JG
AU - Xiao,Y
AU - Di,Antonio M
AU - Oshanin,G
AU - Danilowicz,C
AU - Prentiss,M
AU - Di,Michele L
AU - Kornyshev,AA
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2530949123
PY - 2026///
TI - Direct evidence and quantification of homologous recognition between DNA duplexes.
T2 - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2530949123
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42241112
VL - 123
ER -