Elastic properties and heterogeneous stiffness of the phi29 motor connector channel.

ABSTRACT: The DNA packaging motor of the bacteriophage ϕ29, comprising head-tail connector, ATPase, and pRNA, transports the viral DNA inside the procapsid against pressure differences of up to ∼60 atm during replication. Several models for the DNA packaging mechanism have been proposed, which attribute different roles to the connector, and require specific mechanical properties of the connector. To characterize these properties at the atomic level, and to understand how the connector withstands this large pressure, we have carried out molecular dynamics simulations of the whole connector both in equilibrium and under mechanical stress. The simulations revealed a quite heterogeneous distribution of stiff and soft regions, resembling that of typical composite materials that are also optimized to resi

SUBMITTER: Kumar R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3985501 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature