Helicase on DNA: A Phase coexistence based mechanism

Details Helicase on DNA: A Phase coexistence based mechanism Helicase on DNA: A Phase coexistence based mechanism

2002-05-13

arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0205254v3

J. Phys. A 36, L181 (2003)

Physics

Condensed Matter

Soft Condensed Matter

Revtex4. 5 pages. 4 figures. Published version

Scientific paper

10.1088/0305-4470/36/13/102

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 a 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 helicase. We show that this proposal gives a clear and consistent explanation of the main observed features of helicases.

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