Helicase activity on DNA as a propagating front
Soft Condensed Matter
2009-11-10 v2 Statistical Mechanics
Biological Physics
q-bio
Abstract
We develop a propagating front analysis, in terms of a local probability of zipping, for the helicase activity of opening up a double stranded DNA (dsDNA). In a fixed-distance ensemble (conjugate to the fixed-force ensemble) the front separates the zipped and unzipped phases of a dsDNA and a drive acts locally around the front. Bounds from variational analysis and numerical estimates for the speed of a helicase are obtained. Different types of helicase behaviours can be distinguished by the nature of the drive.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0307380,
title = {Helicase activity on DNA as a propagating front},
author = {Somendra M. Bhattacharjee},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0307380},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
5 pages, 5 eps figures; replaced by the published version