dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaElastic wave propagation along DNA
| Authors | Thomas C. Bishop, Oleksandr O. Zhmudsky |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0101071 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0101071 |
Abstract
It is shown that information transmission inside a cell can occur by means of mechanical waves transmitted through DNA. The propagation of the waves is strongly dependent on the shape of the DNA thus proteins that change the shape of DNA can alter signal transmission. The overall effect is a method of signal processing by DNA binding proteins that creates a "cellular communications network". The propagation of small amplitude disturbances through DNA is treated according to the mechanical theory of elastic rods. According to the theory four types of mechanical waves affecting extension(compression), twist, bend or shear can propagate through DNA. Each type of wave has unique characteristic properties. Disturbances affecting all wave types can propagate independently of each other. Using a linear approximation to the theory of motion of elastic rods, the dispersion of these waves is investigated. The phase velocities of the waves lies in the range 5-8 angstroms/ps using constants suitable for a description of DNA. The dispersion of all wave types of arbitrary wave length is investigated for a straight, twisted rod. Based on these findings, we propose all-atom numerical simulations of DNA to investigate the propagation of these waves as an alternative measure of the wave velocity and dispersion analysis.
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"abstract": "It is shown that information transmission inside a cell can occur by means of\nmechanical waves transmitted through DNA. The propagation of the waves is\nstrongly dependent on the shape of the DNA thus proteins that change the shape\nof DNA can alter signal transmission. The overall effect is a method of signal\nprocessing by DNA binding proteins that creates a \"cellular communications\nnetwork\".\n The propagation of small amplitude disturbances through DNA is treated\naccording to the mechanical theory of elastic rods. According to the theory\nfour types of mechanical waves affecting extension(compression), twist, bend or\nshear can propagate through DNA. Each type of wave has unique characteristic\nproperties. Disturbances affecting all wave types can propagate independently\nof each other. Using a linear approximation to the theory of motion of elastic\nrods, the dispersion of these waves is investigated. The phase velocities of\nthe waves lies in the range 5-8 angstroms/ps using constants suitable for a\ndescription of DNA. The dispersion of all wave types of arbitrary wave length\nis investigated for a straight, twisted rod.\n Based on these findings, we propose all-atom numerical simulations of DNA to\ninvestigate the propagation of these waves as an alternative measure of the\nwave velocity and dispersion analysis.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0101071",
"authors": [
"Thomas C. Bishop",
"Oleksandr O. Zhmudsky"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"q-bio"
],
"title": "Elastic wave propagation along DNA",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0101071"
},
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