Circular differential scattering and circular differential absorption of DNA-protein condensates and of dyes bound to DNA-protein condensates.

DNA-protein condensates that give positive and negative psi-type circular dichroism (CD) spectra (psi condensates) bind intercalative and nonintercalative dyes. CD depends both on circular differential scattering and on circular differential absorption; scattering-corrected CD measurements are approximations to circular differential absorption. The circular differential scattering and scattering-corrected CD patterns observed in the DNA absorption band of psi condensates are mimicked in the induced CD band of intercalators bound to psi condensates. The induced scattering-corrected CD and circular differential scattering patterns of the groove-binding dye Hoechst 33342 bound to psi condensates are the inverse of the patterns seen with intercalative dyes, whereas the groove-binding dye manganese(III) meso-tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphine [MnIIITMpyP-4] shows no significant induced CD patterns. The large circular differential scattering and scattering-corrected CD bands are interpreted as resulting from long-range chiral packing, rather than near-neighbor short-range interactions. Dyes intercalated into the DNA of the psi condensates have the same type of long-range chiral packing as the DNA bases. Therefore, the psi-type CD spectra seen in the UV spectra originating from the long-range packing of the DNA bases are also observed in the visible spectra when dyes are intercalated in the DNA of the psi condensates. Our interpretation comes from the observation that the induced circular differential scattering and circular differential absorption of the dye bound to the psi condensates depend only upon the sign of the circular differential absorption and the pattern of the circular differential scattering of the psi condensates without bound dye.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)