DNA replication (Work in progress)
Illustration 1: a) Schematic representation of the different steps of the replication. At different positions on the genome, ORC proteins are loaded. These proteins allow to load on the genome MCM complexes that called potential origins. In the presence of a limiting diffusive factor, some of these potential origins are activated. Then two replication forks are created and the DNA sequence is replicated on both directions. b) Early and late replicating domains can be explained by an effective one-dimensional potential. Can this potential emerge from the domains created by higher order structures adopted by the chromatin?
Here a simulation of a chromosome that replicate: the chromosome is the blue chain of beads and the origins of replication are the pink beads. The other dimers are firing factors, that once reaching an origin of replication starts the replication, separate and move at a constant fork speed in two opposite directions
At the beginning of the simulation most of them start the replication and are trapped on the chromosomes (The simulation has 16 chromosomes but only one is displayed). Once a monomer is duplicated it changes of color to red. Sometimes two firing factor merges on a chromosome, are realeased and go start the replication on another chromosome .