Related papers: Simulation and analysis of in vitro DNA evolution
We study the size fluctuations of a local denaturation zone in a DNA molecule in the presence of proteins that selectively bind to single-stranded DNA, based on a (2+1)-dimensional master equation. By tuning the physical parameters we can…
Transcription factors regulate gene expression, but how these proteins recognize and specifically bind to their DNA targets is still debated. Machine learning models are effective means to reveal interaction mechanisms. Here we studied the…
Modern genomics experiments measure functional behaviors for many thousands of DNA sequences. We suggest that, especially when these sequences are chosen at random, it is natural to compute correlation functions between sequences and…
We describe the time evolution of gene expression levels by using a time translational matrix to predict future expression levels of genes based on their expression levels at some initial time. We deduce the time translational matrix for…
The oxDNA model of DNA has been applied widely to systems in biology, biophysics and nanotechnology. It is currently available via two independent open source packages. Here we present a set of clearly-documented exemplar simulations that…
Gene expression is a central process to any form of life. It involves multiple temporal and functional scales that extend from specific protein-DNA interactions to the coordinated regulation of multiple genes in response to intracellular…
Transcription factors (TFs) exert their regulatory action by binding to DNA with specific sequence preferences. However, different TFs can partially share their binding sequences due to their common evolutionary origin. This `redundancy' of…
DNA looping plays a fundamental role in a wide variety of biological processes, providing the backbone for long range interactions on DNA. Here we develop the first model for DNA looping by an arbitrarily large number of proteins and solve…
We are interested in modelling Darwinian evolution, resulting from the interplay of phenotypic variation and natural selection through ecological interactions. Our models are rooted in the microscopic, stochastic description of a population…
The inheritance of characteristics induced by the environment has often been opposed to the theory of evolution by natural selection. Yet, while evolution by natural selection requires new heritable traits to be produced and transmitted, it…
A central goal of evolutionary biology is to explain the origins and distribution of diversity across life. Beyond species or genetic diversity, we also observe diversity in the circuits (genetic or otherwise) underlying complex functional…
Molecular phenotypes are important links between genomic information and organismic functions, fitness, and evolution. Complex phenotypes, which are also called quantitative traits, often depend on multiple genomic loci. Their evolution…
The antibody repertoire of each individual is continuously updated by the evolutionary process of B cell receptor mutation and selection. It has recently become possible to gain detailed information concerning this process through…
The mechanism allowing a protein to search of a target sequence on DNA is currently described as an intermittent process composed of 3D diffusion in bulk and 1D diffusion along the DNA molecule. Due to the relevant charge of protein and…
One way to understand the role history plays on evolutionary trajectories is by giving ancient life a second opportunity to evolve. Our ability to empirically perform such an experiment, however, is limited by current experimental designs.…
There is increasing evidence that protein binding to specific sites along DNA can activate the reading out of genetic information without coming into direct physical contact with the gene. There also is evidence that these distant but…
A rapid and low-cost method to sequence DNA would usher in a revolution in medicine. We propose and theoretically show the feasibility of a protocol for sequencing based on the distributions of transverse electrical currents of…
From a nanoscience perspective, cellular processes and their reduced in vitro imitations provide extraordinary examples for highly robust few or single molecule reaction pathways. A prime example are biochemical reactions involving DNA…
Regulatory networks consist of interacting molecules with a high degree of mutual chemical specificity. How can these molecules evolve when their function depends on maintenance of interactions with cognate partners and simultaneous…
Modeling of DNA-protein interactions is a complex process involving many important time and length scales. This can be facilitated through the use of coarse-grained models which reduce the number of degrees of freedom and allow efficient…