Genome injection dynamics in T7 infection driven by host and T7 RNAP
Anjali Yadav, PhD Student, Biocomplexity Section, NBI
Experiments show that when T7 bacteriophages inject their DNA into E coli, the process does not always follow the same pattern. Some trajectories are smooth, while others show pauses or delays. In this work, we use a computational model to study how these different types of DNA injection arise. We model DNA as a flexible chain that moves from the phage into the bacterial cell, and include the role of RNA polymerase, which can bind to DNA, move along it, and pull it during transcription.
By combining DNA physics with the activity of these molecular motors, we show how different injection patterns can emerge. This helps explain the variability observed in experiments and provides insight into the mechanisms behind genome injection.