Fluctuation Assisted Ejection of DNA From Bacteriophage

Abstract

The role of thermal pressure fluctuations in the ejection of tightly packaged DNA from protein capsid shells is discussed in a model calculation. At equilibrium before ejection we assume the DNA is folded many times into a bundle of parallel segments that forms an equilibrium conformation at minimum free energy, which presses tightly against internal capsid walls. Using a canonical ensemble at temperature T we calculate internal pressure fluctuations against a slowly moving or static capsid mantle for an elastic continuum model of the folded DNA bundle. It is found that fluctuating pressure on the capsid mantle from thermal excitation of longitudinal acoustic vibrations in the bundle may have root-mean-square values which are several tens of atmospheres for typically small phage dimensions.