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. 1997 Oct;73(4):1742-62.
doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(97)78205-5.

Configurational transitions in Fourier series-represented DNA supercoils

G Liu  1 , T Schlick, A J Olson, W K Olson
Affiliations

Configurational transitions in Fourier series-represented DNA supercoils

G Liu et al. Biophys J. 1997 Oct.

Abstract

A new Fourier series representation of supercoiled DNA is employed in Langevin dynamics simulations to study large-scale configurational motions of intermediate-length chains. The polymer is modeled as an ideal elastic rod subject to long-range van der Waals' interactions. The van der Waals' term prevents the self-contact of distant chain segments and also mimics attractive forces thought to stabilize the association of closely spaced charged rods. The finite Fourier series-derived polymer formulation is an alternative to the piecewise B-spline curves used in past work to describe the motion of smoothly deformed supercoiled DNA in terms of a limited number of independent variables. This study focuses on two large-scale configurational events: the interconversion between circular and figure-8 forms at a relatively low level of supercoiling, and the transformation between branched and interwound structures at a higher superhelical density.

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