title: Twist-stretch correlation of DNA.
abstract: We present an elastic model for B-form DNA with variable radius to study the elastic twist-stretch coupling of stretched DNA. In this model, only two strain variables as well as the changes in the energy of the hydrogen and covalent bonds of DNA during the deformation are considered. It is found that, depending on the elastic constants, the correlation between twisting and stretching of a helical molecule can be positive or negative. It is shown that for the suitable elastic constants in the model, the twist-stretch coupling of DNA behaves nonmonotonically, and contrary to intuition, the DNA twisting and stretching are positively correlated for small distortions. This result is entirely consistent with recent experimental results.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan 45195, P.O. Box 45195-1159, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghorbani
authors.forename: Farshid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mohammad-Rafiee
mesh_terms: D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D004548:Elasticity; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
chemical_list: D004247:DNA