Related papers: Bending and Base-Stacking Interactions in Double-S…
Many proteins interact with and deform double-stranded DNA in cells. Single-molecule experiments have studied the elasticity of DNA with helix-deforming proteins, including proteins that bend DNA. These experiments increase the need for…
We obtain, using transfer matrix methods, the distribution function $P(R)$ of the end-to-end distance, the loop formation probability and force-extension relations in a model for short double-stranded DNA molecules. Accounting for the…
We develop a simple model to study the effects of an applied force on the melting of a double stranded DNA (dsDNA). Using this model, we could study the stretching, unzipping, rupture and slippage like transition in a dsDNA. We show that in…
Aiming at the mechanical properties of cross-linked biopolymers, we set up and analyze a model of two weakly bending wormlike chains subjected to a tensile force, with regularly spaced inter-chain bonds (cross-links) represented by harmonic…
We investigate the dynamics of a single semiflexible filament, under the action of a compressing force, using numerical simulations and scaling arguments. The force is applied along the end to end vector at one extremity of the filament,…
Blends of polymers of different topologies, such as ring and supercoiled, naturally occur in biology and often exhibit emergent viscoelastic properties coveted in industry. However, due to their complexity, along with the difficulty of…
We discuss multiscale simulations of long biopolymer translocation through wide nanopores that can accommodate multiple polymer strands. The simulations provide clear evidence of folding quantization, namely, the translocation proceeds…
By means of multicanonical computer simulations, we investigate thermodynamic properties of the aggregation of interacting semiflexible polymers. We analyze a mesoscopic bead-stick model, where nonbonded monomers interact via Lennard-Jones…
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 pair interaction between two stiff parallel linear DNA molecules depends not only on the distance between their axes but on their azimuthal orientation. The positional and orientational order in columnar B-DNA assemblies in solution is…
We study the elastic response of a worm-like polymer chain with reversible kink-like structural defects. This is a generic model for (a) the double-stranded DNA with sharp bends induced by binding of certain proteins, and (b) effects of…
We review statistical-mechanical theories of single-molecule micromanipulation experiments on nucleic acids. First, models for describing polymer elasticity are introduced. We then review how these models are used to interpret…
Allosteric interactions in DNA are crucial for various biological processes. These interactions are quantified by measuring the change in free energy as a function of the distance between the binding sites for two ligands. Here we show that…
The role of active stress on the conformational dynamics of a polymer has drawn significant interest due to its potential applications in understanding the energy landscape of protein structures, buckling of biopolymers, genomic spatial…
In Part I of this contribution, a systematic coarse-grained description of the dynamics of a weakly-bending semiflexible polymer was developed. Here, we discuss analytical solutions of the established deterministic partial…
We investigate the thermodynamics and kinetics of DNA hairpins that fold/unfold under the action of applied mechanical force. We introduce the concept of the molecular free energy landscape and derive simplified expressions for the force…
Loops undergoing thermal fluctuations are prevalent in nature. Ring-like or cross-linked polymers, cyclic macromolecules, and protein-mediated DNA loops all belong to this category. Stability of these molecules are generally described in…
We investigate theoretically the effect of polymer tension on the collective behavior of reversibly binding cross-links. For this purpose, we employ a model of two weakly bending wormlike chains aligned in parallel by a tensile force, with…
The mechanical model based on beads and springs, which we recently proposed to study non-specific DNA-protein interactions [J. Chem. Phys. 130, 015103 (2009)], was improved by describing proteins as sets of interconnected beads instead of…
The effective DNA-DNA interaction force is calculated by computer simulations with explicit tetravalent counterions and monovalent salt. For overcharged DNA molecules, the interaction force shows a double-minimum structure. The positions…