TWO BEHAVIORS SUFFICE -- RNA EVOLUTION REVISITED -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 5 Calibrating the Clock: Using Stochastic Processes to Measure the Rate of Evolution -- OVERVIEW -- THE COALESCENT AND MUTATION -- The Ewens Sampling Formula -- Forwards and Backwards in the Tree -- Top-down -- Bottom-up -- The Infinitely-Many-Sites Model -- K-Allele Models -- The Finitely-Many-Sites Models -- MATHEMATICAL VIGNETTE: APPROXIMATING COMBINATORIAL STRUCTURES -- Approximations for the Ewens Sampling Formula -- Combinatorial Assemblies -- Other Combinatorial Structures -- The Large Components -- WHERE TO NEXT? -- Likelihood Methods -- Discussion -- REFERENCES -- General-Purpose References -- Detailed References -- Chapter 6 Winding the Double Helix: Using Geometry, Topology, and Mechanics of DNA -- DNA GEOMETRY AND TOPOLOGY: LINKING, TWISTING, AND WRITHING -- APPLICATIONS TO DNA TOPOISOMERASE REACTIONS -- DNA ON PROTEIN COMPLEXES -- THE SURFACE LINKING NUMBER -- THE WINDING NUMBER AND HELICAL REPEAT -- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LINKING, SURFACE LINKING, AND WINDING -- APPLICATION TO THE STUDY OF THE MINICHROMOSOME -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 7 Unwinding the Double Helix: Using Differential Mechanics to Probe Conformational Changes... -- DNA SUPERHELICITY-MATHEMATICS AND BIOLOGY -- STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM -- THE ENERGETICS OF A STATE -- ANALYSIS OF SUPERHELICAL EQUILIBRIA -- Evaluation of Free-Energy Parameters -- Accuracy of the Calculated Results -- APPLYING THE METHOD TO STUDY INTERESTING GENES -- DISCUSSION AND OPEN PROBLEMS -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 8 Lifting the Curtain: Using Topology to Probe the Hidden Action of Enzymes -- THE TOPOLOGY OF DNA -- SITE-SPECIFIC RECOMBINATION -- TOPOLOGICAL TOOLS FOR DNA ANALYSIS -- THE TANGLE MODEL FOR SITE-SPECIFIC RECOMBINATION -- THE TOPOLOGY OF TN3 RESOLVASE -- SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS -- ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY -- Knot Theory. |