Related papers: Loops are Geometric Catalysts for DNA Integration
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…
Microscopic mechanisms of positive charge transfer in DNA remain unclear. A quantum state of electron hole in DNA is determined by the competition of the pi-stacking interaction $b$ sharing a charge between different base pairs and the…
We propose a model for the formation of chromatin loops based on the diffusive sliding of a DNA-bound factor which can dimerise to form a molecular slip-link. Our slip-links mimic the behaviour of cohesin-like molecules, which, along with…
This paper describes a novel approach to modeling homphily, i.e. the tendency of nodes that share (or differ in) certain attributes to be linked; we consider dynamic networks in which nodes can be added over time but not removed. Our…
Dynamics of nucleosomes, the building blocks of the chromatin, has crucial effects on expression, replication and repair of genomes in eukaryotes. Beside constant movements of nucleosomes by thermal fluctuations, ATP-dependent chromatin…
Some proteins can find their targets on DNA faster than by pure diffusion in the three-dimensional cytoplasm, through the process of facilitated diffusion: They can loosely bind to DNA and temporarily slide along it, thus being guided by…
In this paper we study the role of topology in DNA gel electrophoresis experiments via molecular dynamics simulations. The gel is modelled as a 3D array of obstacles from which half edges are removed at random with probability p, thereby…
We present experimental results regarding the electrotransfer of plasmid DNA into phosphatidylcholine giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Our observations indicate that a direct entry is the predominant mechanism of electrotransfer. A…
A solid-state nanopore can electrophoretically capture a DNA molecule and pull it through in a folded configuration. The resulting ionic current signal indicates where along its length the DNA was captured. A statistical study using an 8 nm…
DNA-interacting proteins have roles multiple processes, many operating as molecular machines which undergo dynamic metastable transitions to bring about their biological function. To fully understand this molecular heterogeneity, DNA and…
This work reviews current theoretical approaches of biophysics and bioinformatics for the description of nucleosome arrangements in chromatin and transcription factor binding to nucleosomal organized DNA. The role of nucleosomes in gene…
In this work we propose a model for DNA double helix within the tight-binding framework that incorporates the helicity of the molecules. We have studied localization properties of three DNAsequences,the periodic poly(dG)-poly(dC) and…
Macromolecular crowding plays a principal role in a wide range of biological processes including gene expression, chromosomal compaction, and viral infection. However, the impact that crowding has on the dynamics of nucleic acids remains a…
Recent experimental and theoretical approaches have attempted to quantify the physical organization (compaction and geometry) of the bacterial chromosome with its complement of proteins (the nucleoid). The genomic DNA exists in a complex…
DNA looping is important in DNA condensation and regulation. One method for forming a DNA loop, thought to be used by the condensing agent protamine, is bind-and-bend. In bind-and-bend, molecules bind all along the DNA, each creating a bend…
Molecular biology explains function of molecules by their geometrical and electronical structures that are mainly determined by utilization of quantum effects in chemistry. However, further quantum effects are not thought to play any…
The adsorption of DNA or other polyelectrolyte molecules on charged membranes is a recurrent motif in soft matter and bionanotechnological systems. Two typical situations encountered are the deposition of single DNA chains onto substrates…
The bacterial genome is organized in a structure called the nucleoid by a variety of associated proteins. These proteins can form complexes on DNA that play a central role in various biological processes, including chromosome segregation. A…
Entropic repulsion between DNA ring polymers under confinement is the key mechanism governing the spatial segregation of bacterial chromosomes, although it remains incompletely understood how proteins aid the process of entropic…
Nanopores -- nanosized holes that can transport ions and molecules -- are very promising devices for genomic screening, in particular DNA sequencing. Both solid-state and biological pores suffer from the drawback, however, that the channel…