Condensed Matter & Surface Sciences

COLLOQUIUM

Jens-Christian Meiners

University of Michigan

“Mechanics of Protein-Mediated DNA Looping”

The formation of protein-mediated DNA loops is a ubiquitous motive in the regulation of genetic function. Statistical mechanics can provide much insight into this process, as it is driven by thermal fluctuations of the substrate DNA. These considerations range from the entropic elasticity of DNA on biologically relevant lengths scales, which is markedly different from the elasticity of infinitely long chains, to questions of whether mechanical forces can provide non-biochemical pathways to regulating gene expression - if, in other words, small forces can turn genes on and off. I will present single-molecule experiments in the lac repressor system together with theoretical analysis to answer some of these questions and show that understanding biomolecular processes from a mechanical point of view is crucial as a cell is not just a small test tube, but a complex mechanical entity as well.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

4:10 p.m. -- Walter Lecture Hall 245