Teoria de nusos i l'acció enzimàtica en l’ADN

Abstract

[en] Certain enzymes can modify the DNA topology by cutting and rejoining DNA strands. This is the main function of topoisomerases and recombinases. Topoisomerases use a “strand-passage” mechanism in which consist in cutting the DNA chains to allow any biologic process, and then they glue them in the initial configuration. In contrast, recombinases after cutting the strands, they join the free ends without preserving the order. In this work, we review some of the basic results of knot theory which offer a mathematical description of the enzyme activities and allows us to understand the DNA changes caused by topoisomerases and recombinases.