Length scale dependence of DNA mechanical properties
arXiv:1210.7205 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.228101
Abstract
Although mechanical properties of DNA are well characterized at the kilo base-pair range, a number of recent experiments have suggested that DNA is more flexible at shorter length scales, which correspond to the regime that is crucial for cellular processes such as DNA packaging and gene regulation. Here, we perform a systematic study of the effective elastic properties of DNA at different length scales by probing the conformation and fluctuations of DNA from single base-pair level up to four helical turns, using trajectories from atomistic simulation. We find evidence that supports cooperative softening of the stretch modulus and identify the essential modes that give rise to this effect. The bend correlation exhibits modulations that reflect the helical periodicity, while it yields a reasonable value for the effective persistence length, and the twist modulus undergoes a smooth crossover---from a relatively smaller value at the single base-pair level to the bulk value---over half a DNA-turn.
5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett
References in corpus (1)
Cited by in corpus (25)
- Flexibility of short DNA helices with finite-length effect: from base pairs to tens of base pairs
- What do we know about DNA mechanics so far?
- Length scale dependent elasticity in DNA from coarse-grained and all-atom models
- Ionic liquids make DNA rigid
- Mechanical properties of DNA and DNA nanostructures: comparison of atomistic, martini and oxDNA
- End-to-end distance and contour length distribution functions of DNA helices
- Counter-propagating dual-trap optical tweezers based on linear momentum conservation
- Mechanical properties of Nucleic Acids and the non-local Twistable Wormlike Chain model
- Flexibility of short DNA helices under mechanical stretching
- Elasticity of DNA and the effect of Dendrimer Binding
- Coarse-graining DNA: Symmetry, non-local elasticity and persistence length
- Bending stiff charged polymers: the electrostatic persistence length
- Extreme bendability of DNA double helix due to bending asymmetry
- Mechanisms of DNA-mediated allostery
- Twisting short dsDNA with applied tension
- Comment on "Flexibility of short DNA helices with finite-length effect: From base pairs to tens of base pairs"
- Short DNA persistence length in a mesoscopic helical model
- First-passage probability: a test for DNA Hamiltonian parameters
- Twist-stretch profiles of DNA chains
- Rigidity of Melting DNA
- Twist-stretch relations in nucleic acids
- Comments on "Length scale dependence of DNA mechanical properties"
- Transcription and the Pitch Angle of DNA
- Stiffer double-stranded DNA in two-dimensional confinement due to bending anisotropy
- Statistical method for A-RNA and B-DNA