  We present a theoretical study of single-stranded DNA under stretching.
Within the proposed framework, the effects of basepairing on the mechanical
response of the molecule can be studied in combination with an arbitrary
underlying model of chain elasticity. In a generic case, we show that the
stretching curve of ssDNA exhibits two distinct features: the second-order
"unfolding" phase transition, and a sharp crossover, reminiscent of the
first-order "unzipping" transition in dsDNA. We apply the theory to the
particular cases of Worm-like Chain (WLC) and Freely-Joint Chain (FJC) models,
and discuss the universal and model--dependent features of the mechanical
response of ssDNA. In particular, we show that variation of the width of the
unzipping crossover with interaction strength is very sensitive to the
energetics of hairpin loops. This opens a new way of testing the elastic
properties of ssDNA.
