DNA density of solution in capsid

Value 500 mg/ml
Organism Bacteriophage Lambda
Reference Garcia HG, Grayson P, Han L, Inamdar M, Kondev J, Nelson PC, Phillips R, Widom J, Wiggins PA. Biological consequences of tightly bent DNA: the other life of a macromolecular celebrity. Biopolymers. 2007 Feb 585(2):115-30.PubMed ID17103419
Primary Source Earnshaw WC, Harrison SC. DNA arrangement in isometric phage heads. Nature. 1977 Aug 18268(5621):598-602.PubMed ID401433
Method Electron microscopy, X ray diffraction
Comments The length of the bacteriophage genome is 16 um (bion 103121) and it is stored in a 58 nm diameter spherical capsid (bion 103122) Taking DNA to be a cylinder 2 nm in diameter, the genome takes up a volume of roughly 50,000 nm3 (V=h*pi*r^2=50266 nm^2, h=16000nm,r=1nm) which should be compared to 100,000 nm3, the approximate volume available within the capsid (V=4*pi*r^3/3=102160nm^3,r=29nm).
Entered by Uri M
ID 103123