相关论文: Force Dependence of Proteins' Transition State Pos…
With the help of force spectroscopy, several analytical theories aim at estimating the rate coefficient of folding for various proteins. Nevertheless, a chief bottleneck lies in the fact that there is still no perfect consensus on how does…
A microscopic theory of the free energy barriers and folding routes for minimally frustrated proteins is presented, greatly expanding on the presentation of the variational approach outlined previously [J. J. Portman, S. Takada, P. G.…
In recent years, single molecule force techniques have opened a new avenue to decipher the folding landscapes of biopolymers by allowing us to watch and manipulate the dynamics of individual proteins and nucleic acids. In single molecule…
Understanding the relationship between protein sequence, function, and stability is a fundamental problem in biology. While high-throughput methods have produced large numbers of sequence-function pairs, functional assays do not distinguish…
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 present a statistical mechanics analysis of the finite-size elasticity of biopolymers, consisting of domains which can exhibit transitions between more than one stable state at large applied force. The constant-force (Gibbs) and…
The motion involved in barrier crossing for protein folding are investigated in terms of the chain dynamics of the polymer backbone, completing the microscopic description of protein folding presented in the previous paper. Local reaction…
Single-molecule mechanical manipulation has enabled the quantitative understanding of the kinetics of bond ruptures as well as protein unfolding mechanism. Single-molecule experiments with theoretical models have allowed one to gain insight…
A simple model for the force-dependent unwinding and rewinding rates of the nucleosome inner turn is constructed and quantitatively compared to the results of recent measurements [A. H. Mack et al., J. Mol. Biol. 423, 687 (2012)]. First, a…
Deviations from linearity in the dependence of the logarithm of protein unfolding rates, $\log k_u(f)$, as a function of mechanical force, $f$, measurable in single molecule experiments, can arise for many reasons. In particular, upward…
The understanding, and even the description of protein folding is impeded by the complexity of the process. Much of this complexity can be described and understood by taking a statistical approach to the energetics of protein conformation,…
One of the most intriguing results of single molecule experiments on proteins and nucleic acids is the discovery of functional heterogeneity: the observation that complex cellular machines exhibit multiple, biologically active…
Evolutionary trajectories and phenotypic states available to cell populations are ultimately dictated by intermolecular interactions between DNA, RNA, proteins, and other molecular species. Here we study how evolution of gene regulation in…
RNA folding is a kinetic process governed by the competition of a large number of structures stabilized by the transient formation of base pairs that may induce complex folding pathways and the formation of misfolded structures. Despite of…
Mechanical unfolding trajectories, generated by applying constant force in optical tweezer experiments, show that RNA hairpins and the P5abc subdomain of the group I intron unfold reversibly. We use coarse-grained Go-like models for RNA…
The folding kinetics of a number of sequences for off-lattice continuum model of proteins is studied using Langevin simulations at two values of the friction coefficient. We show that there is a remarkable correlation between folding times,…
We carry out a theoretical study of the vibrational and relaxation properties of naturally-occurring proteins with the purpose of characterizing both the folding and equilibrium thermodynamics. By means of a suitable model we provide a full…
We analyze the force-extension curve for a general class of systems, which are described at the mesoscopic level by a free energy depending on the extension of its components. Similarly to what is done in real experiments, the total length…
Single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments, as well as a number of other physical systems, are governed by thermally activated transitions out of a metastable state under the action of a steadily increasing external force. The main…
We study the conformations of polymer chains in a poor solvent, with and without bending rigidity, by means of a simple statistical mechanics model. This model can be exactly solved for chains of length up to N=55 using exact enumeration…