Related papers: Probing complex RNA structures by mechanical force
RNA binding proteins play a crucial role in post-transcriptional gene regulation by controlling the transport, processing, and translation of their target RNAs. Post-transcriptional gene regulation leads to the differential expression of…
The effect of sequence heterogeneity on polynucleotide translocation across a pore and on simple models of molecular motors such as helicases, DNA polymerase/exonuclease and RNA polymerase is studied in detail. Pore translocation of RNA or…
Biomolecular graph analysis has recently gained much attention in the emerging field of geometric deep learning. Here we focus on organizing biomolecular graphs in ways that expose meaningful relations and variations between them. We…
The functioning of double-stranded (ds) nucleic acids (NAs) in cellular processes is strongly mediated by their elastic response. These processes involve proteins that interact with dsDNA or dsRNA and distort their structures. The…
Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation is used to investigate the elasticity of torsionally stressed double-stranded DNA, in which twist and supercoiling are incorporated as a natural result of base-stacking interaction and backbone bending…
In post-transcriptional regulation, an mRNA molecule is bound by many proteins and/or miRNAs to modulate its function. To enable combinatorial gene regulation, these binding partners of an RNA must communicate with each other, exhibiting…
In many applications of shape analysis, lengths between some landmarks are constrained. For instance, biomolecules often have some bond lengths and some bond angles constrained, and variation occurs only along unconstrained bonds and…
DNA sequences are prone to creating secondary structures by folding back on themselves by non-specific hybridization among its nucleotides. The formation of secondary structures makes the sequences chemically inactive towards synthesis and…
RNA duplex stability depends strongly on ionic conditions, and inside cells RNAs are exposed to both monovalent and multivalent ions. Despite recent advances, we do not have general methods to quantitatively account for the effects of…
We derive the single molecule equation of state (force-extension relation) for DNA molecules bearing sliding loops and deflection defects. Analytical results are obtained in the large force limit by employing an analogy with instantons in…
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments are increasingly used to probe RNA structure. A number of \emph{forward models} that relate measured SAXS intensities and structural features, and that are suitable to model either…
Designing RNA molecules has garnered recent interest in medicine, synthetic biology, biotechnology and bioinformatics since many functional RNA molecules were shown to be involved in regulatory processes for transcription, epigenetics and…
Mechanical properties of DNA, in particular their stretch dependent extension and their loop formation characteristics, have been recognized as an effective probe for understanding the possible biochemical role played by them in a living…
RNA's diversity of structures and functions impacts all life forms since primordia. We use calorimetric force spectroscopy to investigate RNA folding landscapes in previously unexplored low-temperature conditions. We find that Watson-Crick…
Rising costs in recent years of developing new drugs and treatments have led to extensive research in optimization techniques in biomolecular design. Currently, the most widely used approach in biomolecular design is directed evolution,…
Secondary structure formation of nucleic acids strongly depends on salt concentration and temperature. We develop a theory for RNA folding that correctly accounts for sequence effects, the entropic contributions associated with loop…
By resorting to the thick-chain model we discuss how the stretching response of a polymer is influenced by the self-avoidance entailed by its finite thickness. The characterization of the force versus extension curve for a thick chain is…
The RNA inverse folding problem, a key challenge in RNA design, involves identifying nucleotide sequences that can fold into desired secondary structures, which are critical for ensuring molecular stability and function. The inherent…
RNA co-transcriptionality, where RNA is spliced or folded during transcription from DNA templates, offers promising potential for molecular programming. It enables programmable folding of nano-scale RNA structures and has recently been…
RNA pseudoknots are a kind of minimal RNA tertiary structural motifs, and their three-dimensional (3D) structures and stability play essential roles in a variety of biological functions. Therefore, to predict 3D structures and stability of…