DNA Mutations via Chern-Simons Currents

TL;DR

This paper explores a novel topological approach using Chern-Simons theory to analyze DNA mutations, correlating curvature profiles with mutation locations and suggesting mutations occur at high-gradient regions.

Contribution

It introduces a new application of Chern-Simons currents to model DNA structure and mutations, linking topological curvature to genetic mutation sites.

Findings

Curvature profiles can predict mutation positions.

Mutated sequences tend to have smoother curvature.

High Chern-Simons current gradients correlate with mutation sites.

Abstract

We test the validity of a possible schematization of DNA structure and dynamics based on the Chern-Simons theory, that is a topological field theory mostly considered in the context of effective gravity theories. By means of the expectation value of the Wilson Loop, derived from this analogue gravity approach, we find the point-like curvature of genomic strings in KRAS human gene and COVID-19 sequences, correlating this curvature with the genetic mutations. The point-like curvature profile, obtained by means of the Chern-Simons currents, can be used to infer the position of the given mutations within the genetic string. Generally, mutations take place in the highest Chern-Simons current gradient locations and subsequent mutated sequences appear to have a smoother curvature than the initial ones, in agreement with a free energy minimization argument.