Kinetic analysis of the search for damaged DNA bases by repair enzymes: theoretical investigation of diffusion-controlled steps

Abstract

The kinetics of the search for damaged DNA bases by repair enzymes was theoretically studied. In particular, the characteristic features of the diffusive motion of the enzyme were investigated. Compact analytical expressions for the average search time and its dispersion were obtained for two models of the one-dimensional motion of the enzyme along the DNA fragment: continuous diffusion and stochastic jumps. It was shown that the kinetics of the search is essentially non-exponential due to characteristic features of the diffusive motion.