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Published November 2003 | Submitted
Journal Article Open

Force steps during viral DNA packaging?

Abstract

Biophysicists and structural biologists increasingly acknowledge the role played by the mechanical properties of macromolecules as a critical element in many biological processes. This change has been brought about, in part, by the advent of single molecule biophysics techniques that have made it possible to exert piconewton forces on key macromolecules and observe their deformations at nanometer length scales, as well as to observe the mechanical action of macromolecules such as molecular motors. This has opened up immense possibilities for a new generation of mechanical investigations that will respond to such measurements in an attempt to develop a coherent theory for the mechanical behavior of macromolecules under conditions where thermal and chemical effects are on an equal footing with deterministic forces. This paper presents an application of the principles of mechanics to the problem of DNA packaging, one of the key events in the life cycle of bacterial viruses with special reference to the nature of the internal forces that are built up during the DNA packaging process.

Additional Information

© 2003 Elsevier. We are grateful to Ron Hockersmith, Paul Grayson, Dwight Anderson and Carlos Bustamante for useful suggestions. We have benefitted from a long series of stimulating discussions with Bill Gelbart, Alex Evilevitch and Chuck Knobler R.P. and P.P. acknowledge support of the NSF through grant number CMS-0301657, the NSF supported CIMMS center and the support of the Keck Foundation. J.K. is supported by the NSF under grant number DMR-9984471, and is a Cottrell Scholar of Research Corporation.

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