---
_id: '1896'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Biopolymer length regulation is a complex process that involves a large number
    of biological, chemical, and physical subprocesses acting simultaneously across
    multiple spatial and temporal scales. An illustrative example important for genomic
    stability is the length regulation of telomeres - nucleoprotein structures at
    the ends of linear chromosomes consisting of tandemly repeated DNA sequences and
    a specialized set of proteins. Maintenance of telomeres is often facilitated by
    the enzyme telomerase but, particularly in telomerase-free systems, the maintenance
    of chromosomal termini depends on alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) mechanisms
    mediated by recombination. Various linear and circular DNA structures were identified
    to participate in ALT, however, dynamics of the whole process is still poorly
    understood. We propose a chemical kinetics model of ALT with kinetic rates systematically
    derived from the biophysics of DNA diffusion and looping. The reaction system
    is reduced to a coagulation-fragmentation system by quasi-steady-state approximation.
    The detailed treatment of kinetic rates yields explicit formulas for expected
    size distributions of telomeres that demonstrate the key role played by the J
    factor, a quantitative measure of bending of polymers. The results are in agreement
    with experimental data and point out interesting phenomena: an appearance of very
    long telomeric circles if the total telomere density exceeds a critical value
    (excess mass) and a nonlinear response of the telomere size distributions to the
    amount of telomeric DNA in the system. The results can be of general importance
    for understanding dynamics of telomeres in telomerase-independent systems as this
    mode of telomere maintenance is similar to the situation in tumor cells lacking
    telomerase activity. Furthermore, due to its universality, the model may also
    serve as a prototype of an interaction between linear and circular DNA structures
    in various settings.'
acknowledgement: The work was supported by the VEGA Grant No. 1/0459/13 (R.K. and
  K.B.).
article_number: '032701'
article_processing_charge: No
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Richard
  full_name: Kollár, Richard
  last_name: Kollár
- first_name: Katarína
  full_name: Bod'ová, Katarína
  id: 2BA24EA0-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Bod'ová
  orcid: 0000-0002-7214-0171
- first_name: Jozef
  full_name: Nosek, Jozef
  last_name: Nosek
- first_name: Ľubomír
  full_name: Tomáška, Ľubomír
  last_name: Tomáška
citation:
  ama: Kollár R, Bodova K, Nosek J, Tomáška Ľ. Mathematical model of alternative mechanism
    of telomere length maintenance. <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and
    Soft Matter Physics</i>. 2014;89(3). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701">10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701</a>
  apa: Kollár, R., Bodova, K., Nosek, J., &#38; Tomáška, Ľ. (2014). Mathematical model
    of alternative mechanism of telomere length maintenance. <i>Physical Review E
    Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics</i>. American Institute of Physics.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701</a>
  chicago: Kollár, Richard, Katarina Bodova, Jozef Nosek, and Ľubomír Tomáška. “Mathematical
    Model of Alternative Mechanism of Telomere Length Maintenance.” <i>Physical Review
    E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics</i>. American Institute of Physics,
    2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701</a>.
  ieee: R. Kollár, K. Bodova, J. Nosek, and Ľ. Tomáška, “Mathematical model of alternative
    mechanism of telomere length maintenance,” <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear
    and Soft Matter Physics</i>, vol. 89, no. 3. American Institute of Physics, 2014.
  ista: Kollár R, Bodova K, Nosek J, Tomáška Ľ. 2014. Mathematical model of alternative
    mechanism of telomere length maintenance. Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear
    and Soft Matter Physics. 89(3), 032701.
  mla: Kollár, Richard, et al. “Mathematical Model of Alternative Mechanism of Telomere
    Length Maintenance.” <i>Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter
    Physics</i>, vol. 89, no. 3, 032701, American Institute of Physics, 2014, doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701">10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701</a>.
  short: R. Kollár, K. Bodova, J. Nosek, Ľ. Tomáška, Physical Review E Statistical
    Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics 89 (2014).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:54:35Z
date_published: 2014-03-04T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-29T13:03:34Z
day: '04'
department:
- _id: NiBa
- _id: GaTk
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032701
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '1402.0430'
  isi:
  - '000332274100002'
intvolume: '        89'
isi: 1
issue: '3'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: http://arxiv.org/abs/1402.0430
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Submitted Version
publication: Physical Review E Statistical Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics
publication_status: published
publisher: American Institute of Physics
publist_id: '5198'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Mathematical model of alternative mechanism of telomere length maintenance
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 89
year: '2014'
...