Equation of state of looped DNA

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2007 Jan;75(1 Pt 1):011913. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.75.011913. Epub 2007 Jan 16.

Abstract

We derive the equation of state of DNA under tension that features a loop. Such loops occur transiently during DNA condensation in the presence of multivalent ions or permanently through sliding protein linkers such as condensin. The force-extension relation of such looped-DNA modeled as a wormlike chain is calculated via path integration in the semiclassical limit. This allows us to rigorously determine the high stretching asymptotics. Notably the functional form of the force-extension curve resembles that of straight DNA, yet with a strongly renormalized apparent persistence length. We also present analogous results for DNA under tension with several protein-induced kinks and/or loops. That means that the experimentally extracted single-molecule elasticity does not necessarily only reflect the bare DNA stiffness, but can also contain additional contributions that depend on the overall chain conformation and length.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Biophysics / methods*
  • Computer Simulation
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • Elasticity
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Models, Chemical
  • Models, Molecular
  • Models, Statistical
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation*

Substances

  • DNA