| Abstract: | Matrix generator techniques have been adapted to account for precise structural features of the nucleotide repeating unit and to translate the primary sequence of DNA base pairs into three-dimensional structures. Chains have been constructed to reflect the local sequence-dependent differences of bending and twisting of adjacent residues and various overall chain properties, including the average unperturbed moments of the end-to-end vector r and the mean angular orientation (〈γ〉 between base pair normals, 〈?1〉 between long axes, and 〈?2〉 between short axes) of terminal chain residues, have been computed. The chain backbone is treated implicitly in terms of the spatial fluctuations of successive base pairs. Motions are limited to low-energy perturbations of the standard B-DNA helix. Approximate potential energy schemes are used to represent the rules governing the patterns of local base–base morphology and flexibility. Theoretical predictions are compared with experimental observations at both the local and the macro-molecular level. Initial applications are limited to the rodlike poly(dA) · poly(dT) and poly(dG) · poly(dC) helices. The former duplex is found to be more compressed and the latter more extended than random-sequence DNA of the same chain length. The flexibility of the duplexes as a whole is described in terms of the average higher moments of the displacement vector ρ = r - 〈r〉 and the likelihood of chain cyclization is estimated from the three-dimensional Hermite series expansions of the displacement tensors. Emphasis is placed on theoretical methodology and the practical relevance of the calculated chain moments to observed physical properties. |
