Related papers: DNA loop statistics and torsional modulus
A versatile approach to modeling the conformations and energetics of DNA loops is presented. The model is based on the classical theory of elasticity, modified to describe the intrinsic twist and curvature of DNA, the DNA bending…
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…
DNA and other biopolymers differ from classical polymers due to their torsional stiffness. This property changes the statistical character of their conformations under tension from a classical random walk to a problem we call the `torsional…
Living cells provide a fluctuating, out-of-equilibrium environment in which genes must coordinate cellular function. DNA looping, which is a common means of regulating transcription, is very much a stochastic process; the loops arise from…
DNA torsion dynamics is essential in the transcription process; a simple model for it, in reasonable agreement with experimental observations, has been proposed by Yakushevich (Y) and developed by several authors; in this, the DNA subunits…
We present the results of our numerical analysis of a "composite" model of DNA which generalizes a well-known elementary torsional model of Yakushevich by allowing bases to move independently from the backbone. The model shares with the…
Transcription is the first step of gene expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied to RNA by the enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP). Despite many details of the complex interactions between DNA and RNA synthesis disclosed…
Motivated by experiments in which single DNA molecules are stretched and twisted we consider a perturbative approach around very high forces, where we determine the writhe distribution in a simple, analytically tractable model. Our results…
We have developed a generalized semi-analytic approach for efficiently computing cyclization and looping $J$ factors of DNA under arbitrary binding constraints. Many biological systems involving DNA-protein interactions impose precise…
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…
Motivated by recent experiments on DNA torsion-force-extension characteristics we consider the writhing geometry of open stiff molecules. We exhibit a cyclic motion which allows arbitrarily large twisting of the end of a molecule via an…
We examine the conformations of a model for a short segment of closed DNA. The molecule is represented as a cylindrically symmetric elastic rod with a constraint corresponding to a specification of the linking number. We obtain analytic…
Because of the double-helical structure of DNA, in which two strands of complementary nucleotides intertwine around each other, a covalently closed DNA molecule with no interruptions in either strand can be viewed as two interlocked…
Motivated by the recent experimental observations of the DNA loop extrusion by protein motors, in this paper we investigate the statistical properties of the growing polymer loops within the ideal chain model. The loop conformation is…
DNA supercoiling plays an important role in a variety of cellular processes. The torsional stress related with supercoiling may be also involved in gene regulation through the local structure and dynamics of the double helix. To check this…
The formation of DNA loops by proteins and protein complexes that bind at distal DNA sites plays a central role in many cellular processes, such as transcription, recombination, and replication. Here we review the basic thermodynamic…
It is well known that the structural deformations (stressed states) of DNA molecule play a crucial role in its biological functions including gene expression. For instance, looping in DNA (often mediated by protein binding) is a crucial…
Active loop extrusion - the process of formation of dynamically growing chromatin loops due to the motor activity of DNA-binding protein complexes - is firmly established mechanism responsible for chromatin spatial organization at different…
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…
Loop extrusion convincingly describes how certain Structural Maintenance of Chromosome (SMC) proteins mediate the formation of large DNA loops. Yet, most of the existing computational models cannot reconcile recent in vitro observations…