2006/02/28 by Tao Hu, B. I. Shklovskii · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Bacteriophages and microbial interactions #Diffusion and Search Dynamics #RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms #cond-mat.soft #q-bio.BM
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.74.021903
published as Phys. Rev. E 74, 021903 (2006) · 4 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2006/04/24 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Proteins can locate their specific targets on DNA up to two orders of magnitude faster than the Smoluchowski three-dimensional diffusion rate. This happens due to nonspecific adsorption of proteins to DNA and subsequent one-dimensional sliding along DNA. We call such a one-dimensional route towards the target an "antenna." We studied the role of the dispersion of nonspecific binding energies within the antenna due to a quasirandom sequence of natural DNA. A random energy profile for sliding proteins slows the searching rate for the target. We show that this slowdown is different for macroscopic and mesoscopic antennas.