Controlling the Speed and Direction of Molecular Motors that Replicate DNA

摘要

The advent of techniques to detect and manipulate individual molecules has revealed that mechanical tension on a DNA polymer can control both the speed and direction of the DNA polymerase (DNAp) motor. Reconciling the interpretation of these single molecule experiments with crystal structural data has been the focus of our previous work. In more recent work , we are developing a more broadly applicable conceptual framework to describe how tension on a DNA polymer can produce both the "tuning" and "switching" phenomena observed in DNA polymerase motors. The chief aims are to elucidate the mechanism by which DNA replication is controlled in cells and to seek novel strategies for controlling molecular scale processes and the function of nanodevices.