𝔖 Bobbio Scriptorium
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DNA–DNA sequence homology recognition: physical mechanisms and open questions

✍ Scribed by A. G. Cherstvy

Book ID
102372890
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons
Year
2010
Tongue
English
Weight
155 KB
Volume
24
Category
Article
ISSN
0952-3499

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✦ Synopsis

Abstract

First, we summarize recent experimental facts on homologous DNA pairing in vitro and discuss possible mechanisms of DNA–DNA sequence recognition. Then, we overview the mechanism of DNA–DNA recognition based on complementarity of DNA charge patterns. The theory predicts the recognition energy up to 10 k~B~T for close parallel homologous DNA fragments of gene‐relevant lengths. We argue why this estimate cannot be directly applied to pairing of homologous DNA loci in experiments on yeast chromosomes. Namely, DNA–DNA distances assessed from experiments are much larger than those typically used in theory. Finally, we suggest some experiments that could help to judge whether short‐range electrostatic forces indeed govern DNA pairing. This viewpoint paper introduces recently developed theoretical concepts to molecular biologists, with a hope to generate a junction between theory and future experiments on DNA recognition. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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