An Asymmetric Elastic Rod Model for DNA

TL;DR

This paper introduces an asymmetric elastic rod model for DNA that incorporates anharmonic corrections and structural asymmetry, explaining DNA's high flexibility and kink formation at small scales.

Contribution

It presents a novel asymmetric elastic rod model for DNA that accounts for structural asymmetry and anharmonic effects, improving understanding of DNA flexibility.

Findings

Explains high DNA flexibility at small scales.

Predicts kink formation under high deformation.

Accounts for energy differences in positive and negative rolls.

Abstract

In this paper we consider the anharmonic corrections to the anisotropic elastic rod model for DNA. Our model accounts for the difference between the bending energies of positive and negative rolls, which comes from the asymmetric structure of the DNA molecule. We will show that the model can explain the high flexibility of DNA at small length scales, as well as kink formation at high deformation limit.