| AAPPS Bulletin
Vol. 16 No. 3,
June 2006 |
Highlight of the Issue
Long-Range Allosteric Effect of DNA and Chromatin Loop
Structure (PDF, 889KB)
Ming Li
Institute of Theoretical
Physics,
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Abstract
Here we report the recent progress of our research on DNA
mechanics and the relevant issue of chromosome structure. We
focus on the possible correlation between DNA elasticity and
eukaryotic chromosome structure, since DNA is the longest and
tightly stressed polymer in the chromosome. We find, by Benham
model, that 1) there may exist long-range allosteric effect on
DNA molecule originated from its topological mechanics; 2) this
effect seems to show good correlation to chromsome local
structure. We conclude that, besides the fact that the genetic
information in the DNA text provides the basis to construct the
fine structure of chromatin, the elastic properties of DNA may
also be a vital factor in chromosome formation and its dynamics. |
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