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Allosteric effects are often underlying the activity of proteins and elucidating generic design aspects and functional principles which are unique to allosteric phenomena represents a major challenge. Here an approach which consists in the…
The symmetries of the DNA double helix require a new term in its linear response to stress: the coupling between twist and stretch. Recent experiments with torsionally-constrained single molecules give the first direct measurement of this…
This paper introduces the use of cable dynamics models as a means to explore the mechanics of DNA on long-length scales. It is on these length scales that DNA forms twisted and curved three-dimensional shapes known as supercoils and loops.…
This article proposes a model including thermal effects for closed supercoiled DNA. Existing models include an elastic rod. Euler's elastica, ideal elastic rods on a plane, have only two kinds of closed shapes, the circle and a…
Single molecule experiments on single- and double stranded DNA have sparked a renewed interest in the force-extension of polymers. The extensible Freely Jointed Chain (FJC) model is frequently invoked to explain the observed behavior of…
We propose a dynamical model for the secondary structure of DNA, which is based on the finite stacking enthalpies used in thermodynamics calculations. In this model, the two strands can separate and the bases are allowed to rotate…
Although RNAs play many cellular functions little is known about the dynamics and thermodynamics of these molecules. In principle, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations can investigate these issues, but with current computer facilities,…
The percentage and sequence of AT and GC base pairs and charges on the DNA backbone contribute significantly to the stiffness of DNA. This elastic property of DNA also changes with small interacting ligands. The single-molecule force…
We propose a dissipative electro-elastic network model (DENM) to describe the dynamics and statistics of electrostatic fluctuations at active sites of proteins. The model combines the harmonic network of residue beads with overdamped…
The functioning of double-stranded (ds) nucleic acids (NAs) in cellular processes is strongly mediated by their elastic response. These processes involve proteins that interact with dsDNA or dsRNA and distort their structures. The…
The two strands of a DNA molecule with a repetitive sequence can pair into many different basepairing patterns. For perfectly periodic sequences, early bulk experiments of Poerschke indicate the existence of a sliding process, permitting…
We show that a mesoscale model, with a minimal number of parameters, can well describe the thermomechanical and mechanochemical behavior of homogeneous DNA at thermal equilibrium under tension and torque. We predict critical temperatures…
We construct a theoretical model for the dynamics of a microscale colloidal particle, modeled as an interval, moving horizontally on a DNA-coated surface, modelled as a line coated with springs that can stick to the interval. Averaging over…
In this paper we consider a physical system in which two DNA molecules braid about each other. The distance between the two molecular ends, on either side of the braid, is held at a distance much larger than supercoiling radius of the…
The elastic properties of semiflexible polymers are of great importance in biology. There are experiments on biopolymers like double stranded DNA, which twist and stretch single molecules to probe their elastic properties. It is known that…
Understanding the three-dimensional (3D) structure and stability of DNA is fundamental for its biological function and the design of novel drugs. In this study, we introduce an improved coarse-grained (CG) model, incorporating a more…
The influence of decoherence and bonding on the linear conductance of single double-stranded DNA molecules is examined by fitting a phenomenological statistical model developed recently (EPJB {\bf 68}, 237 (2009)) to experimental results.…
Nucleic acids are highly deformable helical molecules constantly stretched, twisted and bent in their biological functioning. Single molecule experiments have shown that double stranded (ds)-RNA and standard ds-DNA have opposite…
Genomic DNA is constantly subjected to various mechanical stresses arising from its biological functions and cell packaging. If the local mechanical properties of DNA change under torsional and tensional stress, the activity of…
Gel electrophoresis is a powerful experimental method to probe the topology of DNA and other biopolymers. While there is a large body of experimental work which allows us to accurately separate different topoisomers of a molecule, a full…