Twist propagation and nonequilibrium chiral dynamics in DNA filaments during transcriptions.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In this project, we studied the mechanical stabilities and responses of a DNA filament and a nucleosome-like complex against applied twist deformations using analytical and numerical methods based on continuum mechanics approaches. Our results suggest that chiral reversal and related metastable structures of a nucleosome could be produced mechanically by the functions of RNA polymerase II during DNA transcription. This study will be potentially important for understanding dynamical stability and plasticity of chromatin structures observed in living cells.