dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaHow does the chromatin fiber deal with topological constraints?
| Authors | Maria Barbi, Julien Mozziconacci, Jean-Marc Victor |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0404037 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0404037 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevE.71.031910 |
| Journal | Physical Review E, 71, 031910 (2005) |
Abstract
In the nuclei of eukaryotic cells, DNA is packaged through several levels of compaction in an orderly retrievable way that enables the correct regulation of gene expression. The functional dynamics of this assembly involves the unwinding of the so-called 30 nm chromatin fiber and accordingly imposes strong topological constraints. We present a general method for computing both the twist and the writhe of any winding pattern. An explicit derivation is implemented for the chromatin fiber which provides the linking number of DNA in eukaryotic chromosomes. We show that there exists one and only one unwinding path which satisfies both topological and mechanical constraints that DNA has to deal with during condensation/decondensation processes.
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"abstract": "In the nuclei of eukaryotic cells, DNA is packaged through several levels of\ncompaction in an orderly retrievable way that enables the correct regulation of\ngene expression. The functional dynamics of this assembly involves the\nunwinding of the so-called 30 nm chromatin fiber and accordingly imposes strong\ntopological constraints. We present a general method for computing both the\ntwist and the writhe of any winding pattern. An explicit derivation is\nimplemented for the chromatin fiber which provides the linking number of DNA in\neukaryotic chromosomes. We show that there exists one and only one unwinding\npath which satisfies both topological and mechanical constraints that DNA has\nto deal with during condensation/decondensation processes.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0404037",
"authors": [
"Maria Barbi",
"Julien Mozziconacci",
"Jean-Marc Victor"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.SC",
"cond-mat.soft",
"physics.bio-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevE.71.031910",
"journal_ref": "Physical Review E, 71, 031910 (2005)",
"title": "How does the chromatin fiber deal with topological constraints?",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0404037"
},
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