Kinetoplast DNA: topology and hydrodynamics of molecular chainmail

DNA topology is usually categorized into linear and circular molecules, with the latter having varying degrees of supercoiling. A much more complex DNA topology is found in the mitochondria of trypanosome parasites, which cause diseases such as Sleeping Sickness and Leishmaniasis. Their mitochondrial DNA consists of thousands of topologically connected loops, forming a two-dimensional but spatially curved network known as a kinetoplast, which can be thought of as "molecular chainmail." Much like linear DNA has served has a model polymer for several decades, kinetoplasts provide the opportunity to study the physics of exotic types of materials, including two dimensional materials and "Olympic gels," which are held together by topological rather than covalent bonds. In this talk, I will summarize what is known about the biology and topology of kinetoplast networks and overview recent work exploring the polymer physics of kinetoplasts in solution. Finally, I will highlight recent experiments attempting to measure the percolation threshold of kinetoplast networks through destructive testing, as well as efforts to explore the fluid mechanics of therse two-dimensional elastic objects.