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Main Authors: Yang, Li, Wang, Dongbo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00764
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author Yang, Li
Wang, Dongbo
author_facet Yang, Li
Wang, Dongbo
contents How DNA-binding proteins locate specific genomic targets remains a central challenge in molecular biology. Traditional protein-centric approaches, which rely on wet-lab experiments and visualization techniques, often lack genome-wide resolution and fail to capture physiological dynamics in living cells. Here, we introduce a DNA-centric strategy that leverages in vivo N6-methyladenine (6mA) data to decode the logic of protein-DNA recognition. By integrating linguistically inspired modeling with machine learning, we reveal two distinct search modes: a protein-driven diffusion mechanism and a DNA sequence-driven mechanism, wherein specific motifs function as protein traps. We further reconstruct high-resolution interaction landscapes at the level of individual sequences and trace the evolutionary trajectories of recognition motifs across species. This framework addresses fundamental limitations of protein-centered approaches and positions DNA itself as an intrinsic reporter of protein-binding behavior.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_00764
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A DNA-Centric Mechanism for Protein Targeting in 6mA Methylation
Yang, Li
Wang, Dongbo
Quantitative Methods
How DNA-binding proteins locate specific genomic targets remains a central challenge in molecular biology. Traditional protein-centric approaches, which rely on wet-lab experiments and visualization techniques, often lack genome-wide resolution and fail to capture physiological dynamics in living cells. Here, we introduce a DNA-centric strategy that leverages in vivo N6-methyladenine (6mA) data to decode the logic of protein-DNA recognition. By integrating linguistically inspired modeling with machine learning, we reveal two distinct search modes: a protein-driven diffusion mechanism and a DNA sequence-driven mechanism, wherein specific motifs function as protein traps. We further reconstruct high-resolution interaction landscapes at the level of individual sequences and trace the evolutionary trajectories of recognition motifs across species. This framework addresses fundamental limitations of protein-centered approaches and positions DNA itself as an intrinsic reporter of protein-binding behavior.
title A DNA-Centric Mechanism for Protein Targeting in 6mA Methylation
topic Quantitative Methods
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00764