Entropic penalties in circular DNA assembly
- School of Science and Technology - CNISM, University of Camerino, I-62032 Camerino (Italy)
The thermodynamic properties of DNA circular molecules are investigated by a new path integral computational method which treats in the real space the fundamental forces stabilizing the molecule. The base pair and stacking contributions to the classical action are evaluated separately by simulating a broad ensemble of twisted conformations. We obtain, for two short sequences, a free energy landscape with multiple wells corresponding to the most convenient values of helical repeat. Our results point to a intrinsic flexibility of the circular structures in which the base pair fluctuations move the system from one well to the next thus causing the local unwinding of the helix. The latter is more pronounced in the shorter sequence whose cyclization causes a higher bending stress. The entropic reductions associated to the formation of the ordered helicoidal structure are estimated.
- OSTI ID:
- 22415313
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 141, Issue 17; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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