A new 3-Site-Per-Nucleotide coarse-grained model for DNA is presented. The model includes anisotropic potentials between bases involved in base stacking and base pair interactions that enable the description of relevant structural properties, including the major and minor grooves. In an improvement over available coarse-grained models, the correct persistence length is recovered for both ssDNA and dsDNA, allowing for simulation of non-canonical structures such as hairpins. DNA melting temperatures, measured for duplexes and hairpins by integrating over free energy surfaces generated using metadynamics simulations, are shown to be in quantitative agreement with experiment for a variety of sequences and conditions. Hybridization rate constants, calculated using forward-flux sampling, are also shown to be in good agreement with experiment. The coarse-grained model presented here is suitable for use in biological and engineering applications, including nucleosome positioning and DNA-templated engineering. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

The interaction of DNA with proteins occurs over a wide range of length scales, and depends critically on its local structure. In particular, recent experimental work suggests that the intrinsic curvature of DNA plays a significant role on its protein-binding properties. In this work, we present a coarse grained model of DNA that is capable of describing base-pairing, hybridization, major and minor groove widths, and local curvature. The model represents an extension of the recently proposed 3SPN.2 description of DNA [D. M. Hinckley, G. S. Freeman, J. K. Whitmer, and J. J. de Pablo, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 144903 (2013)], into which sequence-dependent shape and mechanical properties are incorporated. The proposed model is validated against experimental data including melting temperatures, local flexibilities, dsDNA persistence lengths, and minor groove width profiles.

Nucleosomes provide the basic unit of compaction in eukaryotic genomes, and the mechanisms that dictate their position at specific locations along a DNA sequence are of central importance to genetics. In this Letter, we employ molecular models of DNA and proteins to elucidate various aspects of nucleosome positioning. In particular, we show how DNA's histone affinity is encoded in its sequence-dependent shape, including subtle deviations from the ideal straight B-DNA form and local variations of minor groove width. By relying on high-precision simulations of the free energy of nucleosome complexes, we also demonstrate that, depending on DNA's intrinsic curvature, histone binding can be dominated by bending interactions or electrostatic interactions. More generally, the results presented here explain how sequence, manifested as the shape of the DNA molecule, dominates molecular recognition in the problem of nucleosome positioning.

A recently published coarse-grained DNA model [D. M. Hinckley, G. S. Freeman, J. K. Whitmer, and J. J. de Pablo, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 144903 (2013)] is used to study the hybridization mechanism of DNA oligomers. Forward flux sampling is used to construct ensembles of reactive trajectories from which the effects of sequence, length, and ionic strength are revealed. Heterogeneous sequences are observed to hybridize via the canonical zippering mechanism. In contrast, homogeneous sequences hybridize through a slithering mechanism, while more complex base pair displacement processes are observed for repetitive sequences. In all cases, the formation of non-native base pairs leads to an increase in the observed hybridization rate constants beyond those observed in sequences where only native base pairs are permitted. The scaling of rate constants with length is captured by extending existing hybridization theories to account for the formation of non-native base pairs. Furthermore, that scaling is found to be similar for oligomeric and polymeric systems, suggesting that similar physics is involved.

The "three sites per nucleotide" (3SPN) model provides a coarse-grained representation of nucleic acids for simulation of molecular processes. Previously, this model has relied on an implicit representation of the surrounding ionic environment at the level of Debye-Hückel theory. In this work, we eliminate this limitation and present an explicit representation of ions, both monovalent and divalent. The coarse-grain ion-ion and ion-phosphate potential energy functions are inferred from all-atom simulations and parameterized to reproduce key features of the local structure and organization of ions in bulk water and in the presence of DNA. The resulting model, 3SPN.1-I, is capable of reproducing the local structure observed in detailed atomistic simulations, as well as the experimental melting temperature of DNA for a range of DNA oligonucleotide lengths, CG-content, Na + concentration, and Mg 2 + concentration.