Motion of Knots in DNA Stretched by Elongational Fields
Author(s)
Klotz, Alexander; Soh, Beatrice W; Doyle, Patrick S
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Knots in DNA occur in biological systems, serve as a model system for polymer entanglement, and affect the efficacy of modern genomics technologies. We study the motion of complex knots in DNA by stretching molecules with a divergent electric field that provides an elongational force. We demonstrate that the motion of knots is nonisotropic and driven towards the closest end of the molecule. We show for the first time experimentally that knots can go from a mobile to a jammed state by varying an applied strain rate, and that this jamming is reversible. We measure the mobility of knots as a function of strain rate, demonstrating the conditions under which knots can be driven towards the ends of the molecule and untied.
Date issued
2018-05Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical EngineeringJournal
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Klotz, Alexander R. et al. "Motion of Knots in DNA Stretched by Elongational Fields." Physical Review Letters 120, 18 (May 2018): 188003 © 2018 American Physical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0031-9007
1079-7114