Related papers: Force-dependent elasticity of nucleic acids

Complementary strands in DNA double helix show temporary fluctuational openings which are essential to biological functions such as transcription and replication of the genetic information. Such large amplitude fluctuations, known as the…

Nucleic acids physical properties have been investigated by theoretical methods based both on fully atomistic representations and on coarse grained models, e.g. the worm-like-chain, taken from polymer physics. In this article, I present an…

Loops are essential secondary structure elements in folded DNA and RNA molecules and proliferate close to the melting transition. Using a theory for nucleic acid secondary structures that accounts for the logarithmic entropy c ln m for a…

It had been proposed that overstretching double stranded DNA from the 5-5 ends will produce a new fiber form of dsDNA that is narrower than the S form that has been suggested to result when the dsDNA is overstretched from the 3-3 ends. We…

DNA strand displacement (SD) reactions are central to the operation of many synthetic nucleic acid systems, including molecular circuits, sensors, and machines. Over the years, a broad set of design frameworks has emerged to accommodate…

The process of RNA base fraying (i.e. the transient opening of the termini of a helix) is involved in many aspects of RNA dynamics. We here use molecular dynamics simulations and Markov state models to characterize the kinetics of RNA…

The simplest model of DNA mechanics describes the double helix as a continuous rod with twist and bend elasticity. Recent work has discussed the relevance of a little-studied coupling $G$ between twisting and bending, known to arise from…

Double-stranded DNA `overstretches' at a pulling force of about 65 pN, increasing in length by a factor of 1.7. The nature of the overstretched state is unknown, despite its considerable importance for DNA's biological function and…

The mechanical model based on beads and springs, which we recently proposed to study non-specific DNA-protein interactions [J. Chem. Phys. 130, 015103 (2009)], was improved by describing proteins as sets of interconnected beads instead of…

Time-resolved single-molecule biophysical experiments yield data that contain a wealth of dynamic information, in addition to the equilibrium distributions derived from histograms of the time series. In typical force spectroscopic setups…

We present a new method for calculating internal forces in DNA structures using coarse-grained models and demonstrate its utility with the oxDNA model. The instantaneous forces on individual nucleotides are explored and related to model…

The stability and dynamics of a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) is affected by the preferential occupancy of small monovalent molecular ions. Small metal and molecular ions such as sodium and alkyl ammonium have crucial biological functions in…

Double stranded DNA chain is known to have nontrivial elasticity. We study the effect of this elasticity on the denaturation profile of DNA oligomer by constraining one base pair at one end of the oligomer to remain in unstretched (or…

Many organisms have an elastic skeleton that consists of a closed shell of epithelial cells that is filled with fluid, and can actively regulate both elastic forces in the shell and hydrostatic pressure inside it. In this work we introduce…

Mechanical properties of DNA, in particular their stretch dependent extension and their loop formation characteristics, have been recognized as an effective probe for understanding the possible biochemical role played by them in a living…

The equilibrium structure of a Dinucleosome is studied using an elastic model that takes into account the force and torque balance conditions. Using the proper boundary conditions, it is found that the conformational energy of the problem…

We present an extensive theoretical investigation of the mechanical unzipping of double-stranded DNA under the influence of an applied force. In the limit of long polymers, there is a thermodynamic unzipping transition at a critical force…

We study theoretically the denaturation of single RNA molecules by mechanical stretching, focusing on signatures of the (un)folding pathway in molecular fluctuations. Our model describes the interactions between nucleotides by incorporating…

Short, partially complementary, single-stranded (ss)DNA strands can form nanostructures with a wide variety of shapes and mechanical properties. It is well known that semiflexible, linear dsDNA can undergo an isotropic to nematic (IN) phase…

Force-induced structural transitions both in relatively random and in designed single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) chains are studied theoretically. At high salt conditions, ssDNA forms compacted hairpin patterns stabilized by base-pairing and…