Eur. Phys. J. E (2006) 19: 293-302
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2005-10073-y

Focus Point

Loops in DNA: An overview of experimental and theoretical approaches

Laboratoire de Physique Statistique de l'ENS, CNRS, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005, Paris, France

^* e-mail: simona.cocco@lps.ens.fr

Received: 11 August 2005
Accepted: 2 February 2006
Published online: 23 March 2006

Abstract

DNA loop formation plays a central role in many cellular processes. The aim of this paper is to present the state of the art and open problems regarding the experimental and theoretical approaches to DNA looping. A particular attention is devoted to the effects of the protein bridge size and of protein induced sharp DNA bending on DNA loop formation enhancement.