Ralf Everaers
Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
Postfach 3148,
D-55021 Mainz, Germany
The DFG is funding one post-doc and two PhD students over a period of two to three years within a project aimed at studying the mechanical properties of DNA which play an important role for its function. We want to understand the dynamic response of DNA to mechanical forces as they are exerted by binding enzymes. Covering in computer simulations the wide range of possible time scales requires the design of a hierarchy of coarse-grained models which capture the relevant dynamic processes in the different time windows. Scaling arguments are particularly valuable for rationalizing the results and guiding the modeling. The present project aims at (i) creating a hierarchy of DNA models on different length scales which are linked by a systematic coarse-graining procedure, allowing to move up and down the various levels as required and to simulate different parts of the molecule with different resolution, and (ii) using this model for a systematic study of the dynamic response of DNA to forces which are large enough to alter the local structure.