Z-DNA: The alter ego of DNA in the extracellular space

DNA is an information-bearing molecule in cells. Outside cells, DNA is used as a structural polymer by bacteria that build multicellular communities called biofilms that cause biofouling and contamination in many industries. In biofilms, DNA exists as both the classical right-handed B-DNA double helix and the lesser known left-handed Z-DNA helix. Z-DNA is mechanically strong, slippery, and resistant to degradation by enzymes, and bacteria exploit these properties. 

This Villum Experiment will bring knowledge and methods from DNA chemistry and biophysics into microbiology to address how bacteria twist DNA and control the transition between the B and Z forms in the extracellular space. If we understand how bacteria toggle DNA between the B and Z forms, we can manipulate its structure to our advantage, e.g. to design resilient Z-DNA-rich biofilms for industrial bioprocessing, or to weaken biofilms for fouling control by switching from Z to B.