ABSTRACT
Exciton recombination and spin dynamics in (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots (QDs) with indirect band gap and type-I band alignment were studied. The negligible (less than 0.2 µeV) value of the anisotropic exchange interaction in these QDs prevents the mixing of the excitonic basis states and makes the formation of spin-polarized bright excitons possible under quasi-resonant, circularly polarized excitation. The recombination and spin dynamics of excitons are controlled by the hyperfine interaction between the electron and nuclear spins. A QD blockade by dark excitons was observed in the magnetic field, that eliminates the impact of nuclear spin fluctuations. A kinetic model which accounts for the population dynamics of the bright and dark exciton states as well as for the spin dynamics was developed to quantitatively describe the experimental data.
ABSTRACT
A study was made of the functional role of the ArdA antirestriction motif (130-LLADVPETVALYFD-143) conserved among all known Ard (alleviation of restriction of DNA) proteins, which are encoded by self-transmissible plasmids and specifically inhibit type I restriction-modification systems. Conserved residues of the motif were individually changed, and the resulting mutants tested for in vivo activity. Hydrophobic L130, L131, and V138 were substituted with negatively charged E; negatively charged D133, E136, and D143 substituted with hydrophobic V; and D127, D150, and D154 neighboring the antirestriction motif substituted with V. Four substitutions (L130E, L131E, V138E, and D143V) substantially (25-1000 times) reduced the ArdA activity. The other substitutions within or beyond the motif had no appreciable effect. Substitutions L130A and L131A each reduced the ArdA activity 10- to 20-fold, indicating that high hydrophobicity of L130 and L131 is important for the ArdA function. Thus, the antirestriction role of ArdA is indeed due to its conserved motif.
