Multireflection propagation of conformational kinks in a two-component model of DNA as the transfer mode of the transcriptional replication fork.

The propagation, or movement, of a conformational kink along a linear structure can occur in capture, transfer, or multireflection modes. Here we use a model for two-component bistable polymer molecules with energetically non-equivalent stable states to model the propagation of the DNA transcription bubble via movement of a non-linear longitudinal stretching region along the DNA chain. We show that under certain conditions the longitudinal excitation can act as a reflector for a conformational kink and, furthermore, that conformational switching may propagate in a multireflection mode alongside conformational kink transition and conformational kink trapping.