A high-throughput assay shows that DNase-I binds actin monomers and polymers with similar affinity

Previous conflicting reports suggest that DNase-I binds F-actin with either equal or drastically different KD values compared to G-actin. We developed a high-throughput DNase-I inhibition assay to determine the KD of DNase-I for F-actin. We confirmed that phalloidin-stabilized F-actin is protected from depolymerization by DNase-I and that the critical concentration at the pointed end of phalloidin–F-actin is 45.5 ± 13.9 nM. We found that DNase-I inhibition by actin follows ultrasensitive mechanics. Using varying lengths of gelsolin-capped phalloidin–F-actin, we concluded that the affinities of DNase-I for G- and the pointed end subunits of F-actin are almost indistinguishable, such that DNase-I may not distinguish between G- and F-actin conformations.