Related papers: Mesoscopic model for DNA G-quadruplex unfolding
We numerically study crystal nucleation and glassy slow dynamics of the one-component Gaussian core model (GCM) at high densities. The nucleation rate at a fixed supersaturation is found to decrease as the density increases. At very high…
RNA pseudoknots are a kind of minimal RNA tertiary structural motifs, and their three-dimensional (3D) structures and stability play essential roles in a variety of biological functions. Therefore, to predict 3D structures and stability of…
The DNA duplex may be locally strongly bent in complexes with proteins, for example, with polymerases or in a nucleosome. At such bends, the DNA helix is locally in the non-canonical forms A (with a narrow major groove and a large amount of…
A construction method for duplex cage structures with icosahedral sym- metry made out of single-stranded DNA molecules is presented and applied to an icosidodecahedral cage. It is shown via a mixture of analytic and computer techniques that…
Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation is used to investigate the elasticity of torsionally stressed double-stranded DNA, in which twist and supercoiling are incorporated as a natural result of base-stacking interaction and backbone bending…
In contrast to proteins much less attention has been focused on development of computational models for describing RNA molecules, which are being recognized as playing key roles in many cellular functions. Current atomically detailed force…
The recently proposed compressed backbone theory suggested that the intrinsic curvature in DNA can result from a geometric mismatch between the specific backbone length and optimal base stacking orientations. It predicted that the curvature…
The rupture of double-stranded DNA under stress is a key process in biophysics and nanotechnology. In this article we consider the shear-induced rupture of short DNA duplexes, a system that has been given new importance by recently designed…
Nucleosome core particle is a dynamic structure -- DNA may transiently peel off the histone octamer surface due to thermal fluctuations or the action of chromatin remodeling enzymes. Partial DNA unwrapping enables easier access of…
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 unzipping, the separation of its double helix into single strands, is crucial in modulating a host of genetic processes. Although the large-scale separation of double-stranded DNA has been studied with a variety of theoretical and…
The force induced unzipping transition of a double stranded DNA is considered from a purely thermodynamic point of view. This analysis provides us with a set of relations that can be used to test microscopic theories and experiments. The…
The macroscopic curvature of double helical DNA induced by regularly repeated adenine tracts is well-known but still puzzling. Its physical origin remains controversial even though it is perhaps the best-documented sequence modulation of…
The packaging of genetic material within a protein shell, called the capsid, marks a pivotal step in the life cycle of numerous single-stranded RNA viruses. Understanding how hundreds, or even thousands, of proteins assemble around the…
Protein folding, peptide aggregation and crystallization, as well as adsorption of molecules on soft or solid substrates have an essential feature in common: In all these processes, structure formation is guided by a collective, cooperative…
We study an intermediate quantum coherent-incoherent charge transport mechanism in metal-molecule-metal junctions using B\"uttiker's probe technique. This tool allows us to include incoherent effects in a controlled manner, and thus to…
In typical single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments the mechanical unfolding of molecular complexes or biomolecules is studied applying a force ramp to one end of the system while the other end is kept fixed in space. The…
Crossover motifs are integral components for designing DNA based nanostructures and nanomechanical devices due to their enhanced rigidity compared to the normal B-DNA. Although the structural rigidity of the double helix B-DNA has been…
The macroscopic curvature induced in the double helical B-DNA by regularly repeated adenine tracts (A-tracts) is a long known, but still unexplained phenomenon. This effect plays a key role in DNA studies because it is unique in the amount…
Topology affects physical and biological properties of DNA and impacts fundamental cellular processes, such as gene expression, genome replication, chromosome structure and segregation. In all organisms DNA topology is carefully modulated…