The relationship between periodic dinucleotides and the nucleosomal DNA deformation revealed by normal mode analysis

Nucleosomes, which contain DNA and proteins, are the basic unit of eukaryotic chromatins. Polymers such as DNA and proteins are dynamic, and their conformational changes can lead to functional changes. Periodic dinucleotide patterns exist in nucleosomal DNA chains and play an important role in the nucleosome structure. In this paper, we use normal mode analysis to detect significant structural deformations of nucleosomal DNA and investigate the relationship between periodic dinucleotides and DNA motions. We have found that periodic dinucleotides are usually located at the peaks or valleys of DNA and protein motions, revealing that they dominate the nucleosome dynamics. Also, a specific dinucleotide pattern CA/TG appears most frequently.