Anomalous dynamics of DNA hairpin folding

Abstract

By means of computer simulations of a coarse-grained DNA model we show that the DNA hairpin zippering dynamics is anomalous, i.e. the characteristic time T scales non-linearly with N, the hairpin length: T ~ N^a with a>1. This is in sharp contrast with the prediction of the zipper model for which T ~ N. We show that the anomalous dynamics originates from an increase in the friction during zippering due to the tension built in the closing strands. From a simple polymer model we get a = 1+ nu = 1.59 with nu the Flory exponent, a result which is in agreement with the simulations. We discuss transition path times data where such effects should be detected.