Construction of a multi RE module: Exploitation of mechanochemistry of restriction endonucleases

Abstract

We describe the construction of a multi-immobilized restriction endonuclease module (Multi RE module). We demonstrate that the applied mechanical stress enables modulation of enzyme activity and modulation of recognition site selectivity (in oligonucleotides of ≃200 bp) of immobilized restriction endonucleases. The central module which is consisted of different strips of immobilized restriction endonucleases allows limited digestion of a large DNA sample in a controlled manner as a function of applied mechanical stress on strips. The stress-activity relationship and the effect of repeated cycles of stress and relaxation on the immobilized strips are presented here.