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Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Studying DNA Looping by Single-Molecule FRET
Published on: June 28, 2014
Relative flexibility of DNA and RNA: a molecular dynamics study
Agnes Noy1, Alberto Pérez, Filip Lankas
1Molecular Modeling and Bioinformatics Unit, Institut de Recerca Biomèdica, Parc Científic de Barcelona, Josep Samitier 1-5, Barcelona 08028, Spain.
Abstract:
State of the art molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the structure, dynamics, molecular interaction properties and flexibility of DNA and RNA duplexes in aqueous solution. Special attention is paid to the deformability of both types of structures, revisiting concepts on the relative flexibility of DNA and RNA duplexes. Our simulations strongly suggest that the concepts of flexibility, rigidity and deformability are much more complex than usually believed, and that it is not always true that DNA is more flexible than RNA.
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