2005/07/31 by Konstantin V. Klenin, Holger Merlitz, Jörg Langowski +3 · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology #Bacteriophages and microbial interactions #Diffusion and Search Dynamics #physics.bio-ph #physics.comp-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.96.018104
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 96(1) (2006) 18104 · 4 pages, 2 figures Nov 22 2005 - accepted for PRL
arxiv created 2005/11/22 · openalex publication_date 2006/01/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The diffusion-controlled limit of reaction times for site-specific DNA-binding proteins is derived from first principles. We follow the generally accepted concept that a protein propagates via two competitive modes, a three-dimensional diffusion in space and a one-dimensional sliding along the DNA. However, our theoretical treatment of the problem is new. The accuracy of our analytical model is verified by numerical simulations. The results confirm that the unspecific binding of protein to DNA, combined with sliding, is capable to reduce the reaction times significantly.