Nature of the Open State in Long Polynucleotide Double Helices: Possibility of Soliton Excitations

The existence of transiently open states in DNA and synthetic polynucleotide double helices has been demonstrated by hydrogen exchange measurements; base pairs reversibly separate and reclose, exposing nucleotide protons to exchange with solvent protons. Recently it has been possible to define the equilibrium, kinetic, and activation parameters of the major open state that determines base pair hydrogen exchange. However, there is no direct information at the moment about the conformation of the open form. Here we consider the possibility that the low energy and slow opening and closing rates observed reflect a deformation involving several adjacent base pairs. Assuming a mobile open unit capable of diffusing along the double helix, we find that available data are consistent with structures of 10 or so adjacent open pairs. It is further suggested that these structures correspond to thermally induced soliton excitations of the double helix, which retain coherence by sharing the energy of a twist deformation among several base pairs. Solitons are nonlinear excitations that can travel as coherent solitary waves, and have been recognized as an important mechanism for mediating conformational changes in polymers and condensed systems generally. Comparison of the double helix with simple mechanical analogs suggests that soliton excitations may well exist within DNA chains, and the present analysis shows that the hydrogen exchange open state is consistent with these.