Model for folding and aggregation in RNA secondary structures.
We study the statistical mechanics of RNA secondary structures designed to have an attraction between two different types of structures as a model system for heteropolymer aggregation. The competition between the branching entropy of the secondary structure and the energy gained by pairing drives the RNA to undergo a "temperature independent" second order phase transition from a molten to an aggregated phase. The aggregated phase thus obtained has a macroscopically large number of contacts between different RNAs. The partition function scaling exponent for this phase is theta approximately 1/2 and the crossover exponent of the phase transition is nu approximately 5/3. The relevance of these calculations to the aggregation of biological molecules is discussed.
Guttal
Vishwesha
V
Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1117, USA.
Bundschuh
Ralf
R
D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry*
D012313:RNA