Bhattacharjee, Somendra M. ; Seno, Flavio (2003) Helicase on DNA: a phase coexistence based mechanism Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General, 36 (13). L181-L187. ISSN 0305-4470
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Official URL: http://iopscience.iop.org/0305-4470/36/13/102/
Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0305-4470/36/13/102
Abstract
We propose a phase coexistence based mechanism for activity of helicases, ubiquitous enzymes that unwind double stranded DNA. The helicase-DNA complex constitutes a fixed-stretch ensemble that entails the coexistence of domains of zipped and unzipped phases of DNA, separated by a domain wall. The motor action of the helicase leads to a change in the position of the fixed constraint thereby shifting the domain wall on dsDNA. We associate this off-equilibrium domain wall motion with the unzipping activity of the helicase. We show that this proposal gives a clear and consistent explanation of the main observed features of helicases.
Item Type: | Article |
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Source: | Copyright of this article belongs to Institute of Physics. |
ID Code: | 2978 |
Deposited On: | 09 Oct 2010 10:25 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2016 13:52 |
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