2005/09/14 by Richard A. Neher, Ulrich Gerland
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques #DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry #RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms #cond-mat.soft #q-bio.BM
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.73.030902
published as Physical Review E 73, 030902(R), 2006 · 5 pages, 5 figures
arxiv created 2005/09/14 · openalex publication_date 2006/03/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We predict a temperature-driven phase transition of DNA below the melting transition. The additional, intermediate phase exists for repetitive sequences, when the two strands have different lengths. In this phase, the excess bases of the longer strand are completely absorbed as bulge loops inside the helical region. When the temperature is lowered, the excess bases desorb into overhanging ends, resulting in a contour length change. This continuous transition is in many aspects analogous to Bose-Einstein condensation. When the sequence is weakly disordered, the contour length changes discontinuously with temperature.