Mechanisms of Protein Search for Targets on DNA: Theoretical Insights

Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract

Protein-DNA interactions are critical for the successful functioning of all natural systems. The key role in these interactions is played by processes of protein search for specific sites on DNA. Although it has been studied for many years, only recently microscopic aspects of these processes became more clear. In this work, we present a review on current theoretical understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the protein target search. A comprehensive discrete-state stochastic method to explain the dynamics of the protein search phenomena is introduced and explained. Our theoretical approach utilizes a first-passage analysis and it takes into account the most relevant physical-chemical processes. It is able to describe many fascinating features of the protein search, including unusually high effective association rates, high selectivity and specificity, and the robustness in the presence of crowders and sequence heterogeneity.

Description
Advisor
Degree
Type
Journal article
Keywords
Citation

Shvets, Alexey A., Kochugaeva, Maria P. and Kolomeisky, Anatoly B.. "Mechanisms of Protein Search for Targets on DNA: Theoretical Insights." Molecules, 23, no. 9 (2018) MDPI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23092106.

Has part(s)
Forms part of
Rights
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Citable link to this page