Theoretical models for single-molecule DNA and RNA experiments: from elasticity to unzipping

TL;DR

This paper reviews statistical-mechanical models for single-molecule DNA and RNA experiments, covering elasticity, force-extension behavior, and unzipping phenomena, providing a comprehensive theoretical framework for interpreting experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces and synthesizes models for polymer elasticity and base-pairing interactions, advancing understanding of nucleic acid mechanics and unzipping kinetics.

Findings

Models explain elastic and abrupt transition behaviors.

Combining elasticity and base-pairing describes unzipping phenomenology.

Theoretical frameworks interpret force-extension experimental results.

Abstract

We review statistical-mechanical theories of single-molecule micromanipulation experiments on nucleic acids. First, models for describing polymer elasticity are introduced. We then review how these models are used to interpret single-molecule force-extension experiments on single-stranded and double-stranded DNA. Depending on the force and the molecules used, both smooth elastic behaviors and abrupt structural transitions are observed. Third, we show how combining the elasticity of two single nucleic acid strands with a description of the base-pairing interactions between them explains much of the phenomenology and kinetics of RNA and DNA `unzipping' experiments.