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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

CD Spectroscopy to Study DNA-Protein Interactions
Published on: February 10, 2022
How does a protein search for the specific site on DNA: The role of disorder
1Department of Physics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Abstract:
Proteins can locate their specific targets on DNA up to two orders of magnitude faster than the Smoluchowski three-dimensional diffusion rate. This happens due to nonspecific adsorption of proteins to DNA and subsequent one-dimensional sliding along DNA. We call such a one-dimensional route towards the target an "antenna." We studied the role of the dispersion of nonspecific binding energies within the antenna due to a quasirandom sequence of natural DNA. A random energy profile for sliding proteins slows the searching rate for the target. We show that this slowdown is different for macroscopic and mesoscopic antennas.
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