Kinetic discrimination of a polymerase in the presence of obstacles

Abstract

One of the causes of high fidelity of copying in biological systems is kinetic discrimination. In this mechanism larger dissipation and copying velocity result in improved copying accuracy. We consider a model of a polymerase which simultaneously copies a single stranded RNA and opens a single- to double-stranded junction serving as an obstacle. The presence of the obstacle slows down the motor, resulting in a change of its fidelity, which can be used to gain information about the motor and junction dynamics. We find that the motor's fidelity does not depend on details of the motor-junction interaction, such as whether the interaction is passive or active. Analysis of the copying fidelity can still be used as a tool for investigating the junction kinetics.