The fields of cell biology, in vitro reconstitution, polymer physics, and genomics together provide complementary windows into the intricate processes of nucleic acids and their protein interactions, which are fundamental to genetic information storage, expression, and regulation. Live-cell studies and genome-wide assays have advanced our understanding of DNA replication, repair, chromosome segregation, and gene expression across developmental and environmental contexts, while polymer-physics frameworks offer quantitative principles for chromatin folding, phase separation, and molecular transport. Yet many mechanisms remain elusive due to the multiscale and complex nature of cellular environments.
Recent work highlights the power of in-vitro reconstitution and physics-guided modeling as precise and complementary approaches to cell biology and genomics. By rebuilding cellular processes with purified components in controlled settings, and interpreting them through statistical-mechanical and polymer models, researchers can dissect molecular interactions that are obscured in vivo and connect single-molecule behavior to genome-wide patterns. This combined strategy enables detailed analysis of protein–DNA binding, chromatin remodeling, condensate formation, regulatory complex assembly, and their signatures in sequencing-based datasets.
This Research Topic aims to spotlight breakthroughs in nucleic acid biophysics by integrating cell biology, in-vitro reconstitution, polymer physics, and genomics. This integration encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and bridges single-molecule mechanisms with chromosome-scale architecture and population-level measurements, accelerating the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. To deepen insight into genome organization and the molecular origins of diseases caused by nucleic acid–protein dysfunction, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Innovations in live-cell imaging and genome-wide assays for studying nucleic acids
- Mechanistic insights from in-vitro reconstitution and physics-informed modeling
- Polymer-physics perspectives on nucleic acid organization, dynamics, and phase separation
- Advances in chromatin remodeling and regulatory complex assembly
- Clinical and translational implications emerging from integrative cell biology, in vitro reconstitution, and polymer-physics-based modeling, and genomics
By harnessing these strategies together, uniting experiment, theory, and computation, this Research Topic aspires to enrich our understanding and propose novel applications in nucleic acid research.
Keywords: In vitro reconstitution, DNA-protein interactions, Gene expression regulation, DNA replication and repair, Biochemical mechanisms
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
