Statics and Dynamics of Condensed DNA within Phages and Globules

TL;DR

This paper investigates the static and dynamic behavior of condensed DNA in phages and globules, deriving relations for pressures and forces, and introducing models for electrostatics, diffusion, and friction under various packing conditions.

Contribution

It presents new theoretical models for osmotic pressure, electrostatic interactions, and DNA dynamics in confined environments, advancing understanding of DNA packing in phages and globules.

Findings

Derived exact relations for osmotic and capsid pressures

Introduced a new electrostatic model for high-concentration polyelectrolytes

Proposed models for DNA diffusion and Coulomb friction under tight packing

Abstract

Several controversial issues concerning the packing of linear DNA in bacteriophages and globules are discussed. Exact relations for the osmotic pressure, capsid pressure and loading force are derived in terms of the hole size inside phages under the assumption that the DNA globule has a uniform density. A new electrostatic model is introduced for computing the osmotic pressure of rodlike polyelectrolytes at very high concentrations. At intermediate packing, a reptation model is considered for DNA diffusing within a toroidal globule. Under tight packing conditions, a model of Coulomb sliding friction is proposed. A general discussion is given of our current understanding of the statics and dynamics of confined DNA in the context of to the following experiments: characterization of the liquid crystalline phases, X-ray scattering by phages, osmotic stress measurements, cyclization within globules and single-molecule determination ofthe loading forces.