Theoretical methods for studying DNA structural transitions under applied mechanical constraints
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Abstract
Recent progress in single-molecule manipulation technologies has made it possible to exert force and torque on individual DNA biopolymers to probe their mechanical stability and interaction with various DNA-binding proteins. It was revealed in these experiments that the DNA structure and formation of nucleoprotein complexes by DNA-architectural proteins can be strongly modulated by an intricate interplay between the entropic elasticity of DNA and its global topology, which is closely related to the mechanical constraints applied to the DNA. Detailed understanding of the physical processes underlying the DNA behavior observed in single-molecule experiments requires the development of a general theoretical framework, which turned out to be a rather challenging task. Here, we review recent advances in theoretical methods that can be used to interpret single-molecule manipulation experiments on DNA. © 2017 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
Biopolymers, Mechanical stability, Molecules, Nucleic acids, Phase transitions, Proteins, Thermodynamics, DNA-binding protein, Equilibrium thermodynamics, Force spectroscopy, Mechanical constraints, Single molecule experiments, Single molecule manipulation, Structural transitions, Theoretical framework, DNA
Source Title
Polymers
Publisher
Series/Report No.
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Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Date
2017
DOI
10.3390/polym9020074
Type
Review