Related papers: Elasticity of a DNA chain dotted with bubbles unde…
Although mechanical properties of DNA are well characterized at the kilo base-pair range, a number of recent experiments have suggested that DNA is more flexible at shorter length scales, which correspond to the regime that is crucial for…
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…
DNA stretching experiments are usually interpreted using the worm-like chain model; the persistence length A appearing in the model is then interpreted as the elastic stiffness of the double helix. In fact the persistence length obtained by…
We study the propagation of very large amplitude localized excitations in a model of DNA that takes explicitly into account the helicoidal structure. These excitations represent the ``transcription bubble'', where the hydrogen bonds between…
We consider force-induced unzipping transition for a heterogeneous DNA model with a correlated base-sequence. Both finite-range and long-range correlated situations are considered. It is shown that finite-range correlations increase…
We propose that supercoiling energizes double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) so as to facilitate thermal fluctuations to an unzipped state. We support this with a model of two elastic rods coupled via forces that represent base pair interactions.…
We considered a dsDNA polymer in which distribution of bases are random at the base pair level but ordered at a length of 18 base pairs and calculated its force elongation behaviour in the constant extension ensemble. The unzipping force…
By exploring a recent model [Palmeri, J., M. Manghi, and N. Destainville. 2007. Phys. Rev. Lett. 99:088103] where DNA bending elasticity, described by the wormlike chain model, is coupled to base-pair denaturation, we demonstrate that small…
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…
A statistical model of homopolymer DNA, coupling internal base pair states (unbroken or broken) and external thermal chain fluctuations, is exactly solved using transfer kernel techniques. The dependence on temperature and DNA length of the…
Simple expressions for the bending and the base-stacking energy of double-stranded semiflexible biopolymers (such as DNA and actin) are derived. The distribution of the folding angle between the two strands is obtained by solving a…
We study the elastic behaviour of a supercoiled DNA molecule. The simplest model is that of a rod like chain, involving two elastic constants, the bending and the twist rigidities. We show that this model is singular and needs a small…
A simple model of DNA based on two interacting polymers has been used to study the unzipping of a double stranded DNA subjected to a periodic force. We propose a dynamical transition, where without changing the physiological condition, it…
The structural flexibility of nucleic acids plays a key role in many fundamental life processes, such as gene replication and expression, DNA-protein recognition, and gene regulation. To obtain a thorough understanding of nucleic acid…
A theoretical analysis of the effect of force and torque on spontaneously twisted, fluctuating elastic ribbons is presented. We find that when a filament with a straight center line and a spontaneously twisted noncircular cross section is…
The possibility of detecting mutations in a DNA from force measurements (as a first step towards sequence analysis) is discussed theoretically based on exact calculations. The force signal is associated with the domain wall separating the…
We present a phenomenological dynamical model able to describe the stretching features of the curve of DNA length vs applied force. As concerns the chain, the model is based on the discrete wormlike chain model with elastic modifications,…
DNA unzipping by nanopore translocation has implications in diverse contexts, from polymer physics to single-molecule manipulation to DNA-enzyme interactions in biological systems. Here we use molecular dynamics simulations and a…
We study theoretically the unzipping of a double stranded DNA from a condensed globule state by an external force. At constant force, we find that the double stranded DNA unzips an at critical force Fc and the number of unzipped monomers M…
We study the compression and extension dynamics of a DNA-like polymer interacting with non-DNA binding and DNA-binding proteins, by means of computer simulations. The geometry we consider is inspired by recent experiments probing the…