RecA force generation by hydrolysis waves

Abstract

We present a simple theory of the dynamics of force generation by RecA during homologous strand exchange and a continuous, deterministic mathematical model of the proposed process. Calculations show that force generation is possible in this model for certain reasonable values of the parameters. We predict the shape of the force-velocity curve for the Holliday junction, which exhibits a distinctive kink at large retarding force, and suggest experiments which should distinguish between the proposed model and other models in the literature.