Rod models of DNA: sequence-dependent anisotropic elastic modelling of local bending phenomena

Local bending phenomena can be predicted by elastic models that incorporate sequence-dependent anisotropic-bendability (SDAB). SDAB models consider DNA to be an initially straight, segmented, elastic rod, in which the flexibility of each segment is greater towards the major groove than it is in other directions. While local bending can be predicted by static-geometry models as well, SDAB models, in addition, qualitatively explain such phenomena as the affinity of protein binding and kinking. A set of prediction tools is available at http://www.icgeb.trieste.it/dna.