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Chromatin: A tunable spring at work inside chromosomes

Chromatin: A tunable spring at work inside chromosomes This paper focuses on mechanical aspects of chromatin biological functioning. Within a basic geometric modeling of the chromatin assembly, we give a complete set of elastic constants (twist and bend persistence lengths, stretch modulus and twist-stretch coupling constant) of the so-called 30-nm chromatin fiber, in terms of DNA elastic properties and geometric properties of the fiber assembly. The computation naturally embeds the fiber within a current analytical model known as the “extensible wormlike rope,” allowing a straightforward prediction of the force-extension curves. We show that these elastic constants are strongly sensitive to the linker length, up to 1 bp, or equivalently to its twist, and might locally reach very low values, yielding a highly flexible and extensible domain in the fiber. In particular, the twist-stretch coupling constant, reflecting the chirality of the chromatin fiber, exhibits steep variations, and sign changes when the linker length is varied. We argue that this tunable elasticity might be a key feature for chromatin function, for instance, in the initiation and regulation of transcription. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Physical Review E American Physical Society (APS)

Chromatin: A tunable spring at work inside chromosomes

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References (58)

Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 The American Physical Society
ISSN
1095-3787
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevE.64.051921
pmid
11735982
Publisher site
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Abstract

This paper focuses on mechanical aspects of chromatin biological functioning. Within a basic geometric modeling of the chromatin assembly, we give a complete set of elastic constants (twist and bend persistence lengths, stretch modulus and twist-stretch coupling constant) of the so-called 30-nm chromatin fiber, in terms of DNA elastic properties and geometric properties of the fiber assembly. The computation naturally embeds the fiber within a current analytical model known as the “extensible wormlike rope,” allowing a straightforward prediction of the force-extension curves. We show that these elastic constants are strongly sensitive to the linker length, up to 1 bp, or equivalently to its twist, and might locally reach very low values, yielding a highly flexible and extensible domain in the fiber. In particular, the twist-stretch coupling constant, reflecting the chirality of the chromatin fiber, exhibits steep variations, and sign changes when the linker length is varied. We argue that this tunable elasticity might be a key feature for chromatin function, for instance, in the initiation and regulation of transcription.

Journal

Physical Review E – American Physical Society (APS)

Published: Nov 1, 2001

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