title: Vibrational fluctuations of hydrogen bonds in a DNA double helix with nonuniform base pairs.
abstract: The Green's function technique is applied to a study of breathing modes in a DNA double helix which contains a region of different base pairs from the rest of the double helix. The calculation is performed on a G-C helix in the B conformation with four consecutive base pairs replaced by A-T. The average stretch in hydrogen bonds is found amplified around the A-T base pair region compared with that of poly(dG)-poly(dC). This is likely related to the A-T regions lower stability against hydrogen bond melting. The A-T region may be considered to be the initiation site for melting in such a helix.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Prohofsky
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008433:Mathematics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D014732:Vibration
chemical_list: D004247:DNA