Modeling DNA Conformational Transformations on the Mesoscopic Scales

Abstract

The approach for the description of the DNA conformational transformations on the mesoscopic scales in the frame of the double helix is presented. Due to consideration of the joint motions of DNA structural elements along the conformational pathways the models for different transformations may be constructed in the unifying two-component form. One component of the model is the degree of freedom of the elastic rod and another component -- the effective coordinate of the conformational transformation. The internal and external model components are interrelated, as it is characteristic for the DNA structure organization. It is shown that the kinetic energy of the conformational transformation of heterogeneous DNA may be put in homogeneous form. In the frame of the developed approach the static excitations of the DNA structure under the transitions between the stable states are found for internal and external components. The comparison of the data obtained with the experiment on intrinsic DNA deformability shows good qualitative agreement. The conclusion is made that the found excitations in the DNA structure may be classificated as the static conformational solitons.