Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The functioning of double-stranded (ds) nucleic acids (NAs) in cellular processes is strongly mediated by their elastic response. These processes involve proteins that interact with dsDNA or dsRNA and distort their structures. The perturbation of the elasticity of NAs arising from these deformations is not properly considered by most theoretical frameworks. In this work, we introduce a novel method to assess the impact of mechanical stress on the elastic response of dsDNA and dsRNA through the analysis of the fluctuations of the double helix. Application of this approach to atomistic simulations reveals qualitative differences in the force dependence of the mechanical properties of dsDNA with respect to those of dsRNA, which we relate to structural features of these molecules by means of physically-sound minimalistic models.
Source: Nanoscale
DOI: 10.1039/d2nr06324g
Institution: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: G1064419039, G1255325603, Junior Leader la Caixa Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme: Shaping the new generation of leaders in research, G2290189609, Junior Leader la Caixa Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme: Shaping the new generation of leaders in research, G4322781266, G4493332189, G4944594896, G5132640529, G5805502524, G67218712, G7685134749, G7731791180
OpenAlex ID: W4327529487