Related papers: Loops are Geometric Catalysts for DNA Integration
The equilibrium three dimensional shape of relatively short loops of DNA is studied using an elastic model that takes into account anisotropy in bending rigidities. Using a reasonable estimate for the anisotropy, it is found that cyclized…
Nucleosomes are the fundamental building blocks of chromatin that not only help in the folding of chromatin but also in carrying epigenetic information. It is known that nucleosome sliding is responsible for dynamically organizing chromatin…
Synthetic molecular motors are an appealing means to control motion at the nanoscale, but understanding their behaviour as single-molecule actuators and integrating them into larger, functional systems remain technical challenges.…
The histone-DNA interaction in the nucleosome is a fundamental mechanism of genomic compaction and regulation, which remains largely unkown despite a growing structural knowledge of the complex. Here, we propose a framework for the…
Large-scale DNA deformation is ubiquitous in transcriptional regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes alike. Though much is known about how transcription factors and constellations of binding sites dictate where and how gene regulation will…
Condensation of hundreds of mega-base-pair-long human chromosomes in a small nuclear volume is a spectacular phenomenon. This process is driven by the formation of chromosome loops. ATP consuming motor, condensin, interacts with chromatin…
Cytoskeletal crowding plays a key role in the diffusion of DNA molecules through the cell, acting as a barrier to effective intracellular transport and conformational stability required for such processes as transfection, viral infection,…
Complex DNA topological structures, including polymer loops, are frequently observed in biological processes when protein molecules simultaneously bind to several distant sites on DNA. However, the molecular mechanisms of formation of these…
In this work, we show that by varying the experimental conditions, the driving amplitude, a dynamic force microscope allows DNA properties to be selectively imaged. The substrate on which the DNA is fixed is a silica surface grafted with…
In bacteria, regulatory proteins search for a specific DNA binding target via "facilitated diffusion": a series of rounds of 3D diffusion in the cytoplasm, and 1D linear diffusion along the DNA contour. Using large scale Brownian dynamics…
The dynamics of a loop in DNA molecules at the denaturation transition is studied by scaling arguments and numerical simulations. The autocorrelation function of the state of complementary bases (either closed or open) is calculated. The…
Quantum effects are mainly used for the determination of molecular shapes in molecular biology, but quantum information theory may be a more useful tool to understand the physics of life. Organic molecules and quantum circuits/protocols can…
RNA polymerase (RNAP) is a mobile molecular workshop that polymerizes a RNA molecule by adding monomeric subunits one by one, while moving step by step on the DNA template itself. Here we develop a theoretical model by incorporating the…
We develop an analytical theory that accounts for the image and surface charge interactions between a charged dielectric membrane and a DNA molecule translocating through the membrane. Translocation events through neutral carbon-based…
The spatial organization of DNA involves DNA loop extrusion and the formation of protein-DNA condensates. While the significance of each process is increasingly recognized, their interplay remains unexplored. Using molecular dynamics…
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 structure of DNA Binding Proteins enables a strong interaction with their specific target site on DNA. However, recent single molecule experiment reported that proteins can diffuse on DNA. This suggests that the interactions between…
Storage and retrieval of the genetic information in cells is a dynamic process that requires the DNA to undergo dramatic structural rearrangements. DNA looping is a prominent example of such a structural rearrangement that is essential for…
The Integration Host Factor (IHF) is a nucleoid-associated protein critical for both DNA compaction and biofilm stability. While its role in DNA packaging within the cell is well understood, its structural role in scaffolding biofilms is…
For most of the important processes in DNA metabolism, a protein has to reach a specific binding site on the DNA. The specific binding site may consist of just a few base pairs while the DNA is usually several millions of base pairs long.…