SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · 2601.08577

Exchange-Symmetric Dissipation at the DNA-RNA Polymerase Interface

Abstract

In the DNA-RNA polymerase complex, RNA polymerase (RNAP) selectively incorporates ribonucleoside triphosphates according to the base information encoded in DNA, elongates the RNA strand, and progresses along the template. The state of the template DNA therefore conditions RNAP binding and chemical transitions. Conversely, from the viewpoint of DNA, the binding state and coordinate position of RNAP condition the local structural response of DNA. As RNAP advances, upstream DNA reanneals, downstream DNA opens, the RNA-DNA hybrid constrains the local geometry, and local bending and twisting of the DNA are updated. We introduce an interface dissipation, {\Sigma}int, that provides an exchange-symmetric measure of path irreversibility at the DNA-RNAP interface, independent of whether DNA or RNAP is assigned the role of observer or observed. Irreversibility is quantified by the path-space Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence between the forward path measure and its time-reversed counterpart, from which the dissipation of the joint system and those of the marginal systems are defined. The non-negativity of the interface dissipation derived in this work does not rely on RNAP-specific kinetic assumptions; rather, it holds for general path processes for which the relevant KL divergences and conditional path measures are well defined. RNAP transcription is treated as a biophysical application of this general theorem to the DNA-RNAP interface.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Tatsuaki Tsuruyama. 2026-01-13. Exchange-Symmetric Dissipation at the DNA-RNA Polymerase Interface. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08577

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Multiscale retinal flow on a spherical cap of varying aperture

Modelling retinal haemodynamics is crucial for understanding retinal microcirculation but is computationally demanding because it involves coupling between the vasculature and surrounding tissue across multiple scales. This computational burden has been substantially alleviated by a recent analytic solution on the planar disc that enables lumping the capillary bed and surrounding tissue into an effective resistor. However, that formulation treats the retina as a flat surface, whereas the retina is a curved surface with a finite anterior aperture. In this work, we develop a nontrivial and physiologically necessary extension to spherical-cap tissue domains with varying apertures, where surface curvature and finite-aperture boundaries complicate solving coupled Darcy equations on a curved manifold. Using a stereographic projection and a decoupling transformation, we derive an analytic solution for the capillary-tissue system on the spherical cap that represents flow in both the capillary bed and interstitial tissue more realistically while retaining the efficient resistor formulation, a key advantage of the planar-disc formulation. This solution is coupled to one-dimensional (1D) arteriolar and venular flows to obtain a multiscale description of retinal haemodynamics. Using a vasculature model designed to capture retinal vascular features, we show that the multiscale model's predictions are consistent with experimental data. We further explore aperture effects using both a fixed hemispherical vasculature and aperture-dependent vasculature. The aperture affects retinal haemodynamics mainly through changes in the constructed vasculature itself, whereas the surface-averaged pressures and relative terminal flow distributions remain nearly unchanged. This framework provides a foundation for studying retinal pathophysiology on more anatomically realistic domains.

physics.bio-ph

Double-well potentials and crucial estimations in nonlinear dynamics of microtubules

In the present work, we study the two-component model of microtubules, the basic components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton. We introduce a couple of estimations, which tremendously simplified the model. The paper is devoted to tangential oscillations of dimers, but we explain that the model can explain the radial oscillations as well. Finally, we study the stability of all solutions of differential equations, describing the dynamics of the microtubules.

physics.bio-ph

A thermodynamically consistent framework for finite growth of multi-constituent mixtures with application to tumor growth

Biological tissues grow by continuously producing, transporting, and reorganizing multiple interacting constituents. These processes are intrinsically coupled to finite deformation and residual stress. Existing models typically capture either finite growth kinematics or multi-constituent transport, but rarely both within a thermodynamically consistent setting. In particular, existing approaches do not consistently link the volume created by finite growth to the mass produced for each individual constituent. In this work, we develop a general continuum framework that unifies finite growth kinematics and multiphase mixture theory for fully saturated multi-constituent mixtures containing an arbitrary number of dilute dissolved solutes. Formulated in a solid-skeleton-based description, the framework rests on constituent-wise balance laws and a free-energy dissipation principle, from which thermodynamically admissible constitutive closures are derived for all mass-exchange, transport, reaction, and growth processes. The central novelty of the framework is a coupling between growth-induced volume creation and constituent mass production, expressed through volume accumulation fractions that distribute the newly created volume among the constituents while preserving saturation. We cast the resulting model in a total Lagrangian mixed weak form and specialize the general theory to a four-constituent, two-solute model of avascular tumor growth that couples nutrient transport, waste production, phenotype transitions between proliferative, hypoxic, and necrotic cells, volume growth, elastic deformation, and growth-induced residual stress. The model is implemented within a finite element setting and its capabilities are demonstrated on representative benchmark problems.

physics.bio-ph