DNA microcircles - The promising tool for in vivo studies of the behavior of non-canonical DNA

The paper discusses the reasons for the resurrection of the term DNA microcircles through the change of its definition to “topologically closed DNA circles with the length less than 1 Kbp” from the entire population of circular DNA that holds the name of minicircles. The possible applications of such tool for in vivo studies of non-canonical DNA are also discussed. Prospective for in vivo and in vitro studies of non-canonical DNA cloned into microcircles are demonstrated. A method of stepwise elongation or shortening of plasmids is discussed. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd