Modelling DNA at the mesoscale: a challenge for nonlinear science?

Michel Peyrard (1) , Santiago Cuesta-Lopez (1) , Guillaume James (2, 3)

1 Phys-ENS - Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS Lyon
2 IMT - Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse UMR5219
3 CASYS - Calculs Algébriques et Systèmes Dynamiques

When it is viewed at the scale of a base pair, DNA appears as a nonlinear lattice. Modelling its properties is a fascinating goal. The detailed experiments that can be performed on this system impose constraints on the models and can be used as a guide to improve them. There are nevertheless many open problems, particularly to describe DNA at the scale of a few tens of base pairs, which is relevant for many biological phenomena.

Mots clés: DNA; fluctuations; nonlinear lattice

Domaines: Mécanique statistique [cond-mat.stat-mech]

Michel Peyrard, Santiago Cuesta-Lopez, Guillaume James. Modelling DNA at the mesoscale: a challenge for nonlinear science?. Nonlinearity, 2008, 6 (21), pp.T91-T100. ⟨10.1088/0951-7715/21/6/T02⟩. ⟨ensl-00309257⟩