Related papers: First-principles calculation of DNA looping in tet…
Using Monte-Carlo simulations, we deconvolved the sliding and hopping kinetics of GFP-LacI proteins on elongated DNA from their experimentally observed seconds-long diffusion trajectories. Our simulations suggest the following results: (1)…
We show the existence of a high interrelation between the different loops that may appear in a DNA segment. Conformational changes in a chain segment caused by the formation of a particular loop may either promote or prevent the appearance…
Many structures inside the cell such as nucleosomes and protein-mediated DNA loops contain sharply bent double-stranded (ds) DNA. Therefore, the energetics of strong dsDNA bending constitutes an essential part of cellular thermodynamics.…
Motivated by the recent experimental observations of the DNA loop extrusion by protein motors, in this paper we investigate the statistical properties of the growing polymer loops within the ideal chain model. The loop conformation is…
Transcription regulation typically involves the binding of proteins over long distances on multiple DNA sites that are brought close to each other by the formation of DNA loops. The inherent complexity of the assembly of regulatory…
We study numerically the mechanical stability and elasticity properties of duplex DNA molecules within the frame of a network model incorporating microscopic degrees of freedom related with the arrangement of the base pairs. We pay special…
The quasi-equilibrium approximation is acceptable when molecular interactions are fast enough compared to circuit dynamics, but is no longer allowed when cellular activities are governed by rare events. A typical example is the lactose…
Many proteins interact with and deform double-stranded DNA in cells. Single-molecule experiments have studied the elasticity of DNA with helix-deforming proteins, including proteins that bend DNA. These experiments increase the need for…
DNA loop extrusion is arguably one of the most important players in genome organization. The precise mechanism by which loop extruding factors (LEFs) work is still unresolved and much debated. One of the major open questions in this field…
Using Langevin dynamics simulations, we study the hysteresis in unzipping of longer double stranded DNA chains whose ends are subjected to a time dependent periodic force with frequency $\omega$ and amplitude $G$ keeping the other end…
Loop formation between monomers in the interior of semiflexible chains describes elementary events in biomolecular folding and DNA bending. We calculate analytically the interior distance distribution function for semiflexible chains using…
Transcription is the first step of gene expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied to RNA by the enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP). Despite many details of the complex interactions between DNA and RNA synthesis disclosed…
The thermodynamic properties of DNA circular molecules are investigated by a new path integral computational method which treats in the real space the fundamental forces stabilizing the molecule. The base pair and stacking contributions to…
A dynamical model based on a phenomenological charm quark-nucleon($c$-N) potential $v_{cN}$ and the Pomeron-exchange mechanism is constructed to investigate the $J/\Psi$ photo-production on the nucleon from threshold to invariant mass…
This study deals with polymer looping, an important process in many chemical and biological systems. We investigate basic questions on the looping dynamics of a polymer under tension using the freely-jointed chain (FJC) model. Previous…
We review statistical-mechanical theories of single-molecule micromanipulation experiments on nucleic acids. First, models for describing polymer elasticity are introduced. We then review how these models are used to interpret…
The mechanism and driving forces of chromosome segregation in the bacterial cell cycle of E. coli is one of the least understood events in its life cycle. Using principles of entropic repulsion between polymer loops confined in a cylinder,…
Negatively charged DNA can be compacted by positively charged dendrimers and the degree of compaction is a delicate balance between the strength of the electrostatic interaction and the elasticity of DNA. We report various elastic…
We investigate the statistical mechanics of a torsionally constrained polymer. The polymer is modeled as a fluctuating rod with bend stiffness A kT and twist stiffness C kT. In such a model, thermal bend fluctuations couple geometrically to…
Single-molecule experiments provide new insights into biological processes hitherto not accessible by measurements performed on bulk systems. We report on a study of the kinetics of a triple-branch DNA molecule with four conformational…