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arXiv · 2408.05978

Kinetoplast DNA: a polymer physicist's Olympic dream

Davide Michieletto
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Abstract

All life forms are miraculous, but some are more inexplicable than others. Trypanosomes are by far one of the most puzzling organisms on Earth: their mitochondrial genome, also called kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) forms an Olympic-ring-like network of interlinked DNA circles, challenging conventional paradigms in both biology and physics. In this review, I will discuss kDNA from the astonished perspective of a polymer physicist and tell a story of how a single sub-celluar structure from a blood-dwelling parasite is inspiring generations of polymer chemists and physicists to create new catenated materials.

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Davide Michieletto. 2024-08-12. Kinetoplast DNA: a polymer physicist's Olympic dream. https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.05978

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