Related papers: Statistical Physics of RNA-folding
We describe a dynamic programming algorithm for predicting optimal RNA secondary structure, including pseudoknots. The algorithm has a worst case complexity of ${\cal O}(N^6)$ in time and ${\cal O}(N^4)$ in storage. The description of the…
In this paper, we introduce the software suite, Hermes, which provides fast, novel algorithms for RNA secondary structure kinetics. Using the fast Fourier transform to efficiently compute the Boltzmann probability that a secondary structure…
We re-examine the evolutionary dynamics of RNA secondary structures under directional selection towards an optimum RNA structure. We find that the punctuated equilibria lead to a very slow approach to the optimum, following on average an…
Recently the physical characterization of a number of biological processes has proven indispensable for a full understanding of natural phenomena. One such example is the mechanical properties of transcription, which have been shown to have…
DNA cyclization is a powerful technique to gain insight into the nature of DNA bending. The worm-like chain model provides a good description of small to moderate bending fluctuations, but some experiments on strongly-bent shorter molecules…
Motivated by the notion that the mathematics of gravity can be reproduced from a statistical requirement of maximal entropy, we study the consequence of introducing an entropic source term in the Einstein-Hilbert action. For a spatially…
We propose a new approach for modelling the process of RNA folding as a graph transformation guided by the global value of free energy. Since the folding process evolves towards a configuration in which the free energy is minimal, the…
Heterogeneity in biological molecules, resulting in molecule-to-molecule variations in their dynamics and function, is an emerging theme. To elucidate the consequences of heterogeneous behavior at the single molecule level, we propose an…
We show that a mesoscale model, with a minimal number of parameters, can well describe the thermomechanical and mechanochemical behavior of homogeneous DNA at thermal equilibrium under tension and torque. We predict critical temperatures…
The approach for the description of the DNA conformational transformations on the mesoscopic scales in the frame of the double helix is presented. Due to consideration of the joint motions of DNA structural elements along the conformational…
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…
Because of one-valued connection between the configurational entropy and the order parameter it is possible to present the theory of the second order phase transitions in terms of the configurational entropy. It is offered a variant of…
As a key molecule of Life, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the focus of numbers of investigations with the help of biological, chemical and physical techniques. From a physical point of view, both experimental and theoretical works have…
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 investigate the generalized Poland-Scheraga model, which is used in the bio-physical literature to model the DNA denaturation transition, in the case where the two strands are allowed to be non-complementary (and to have different…
Nucleic acids have been regarded as stiff polymers with long-range flexibility and generally modeled using elastic rod models of polymer physics. Notwithstanding, investigations carried out over the past few years on single fragments of…
The intricate network of interactions observed in RNA three-dimensional structures is often described in terms of a multitude of geometrical properties, including helical parameters, base pairing/stacking, hydrogen bonding and backbone…
We study the effects of the shear force on the rupture mechanism on a double stranded DNA. Motivated by recent experiments, we perform the atomistic simulations with explicit solvent to obtain the distributions of extension in hydrogen and…
Secondary structure plays an important role in determining the function of non-coding RNAs. Hence, identifying RNA secondary structures is of great value to research. Computational prediction is a mainstream approach for predicting RNA…
As sections of a strand duplexed DNA denature when exposed to high temperature, the excess linking number is taken up by the undenatured portions of the molecule. The mechanical energy that arises because of the overwinding of the…