Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.

Biomolecular recognition entails attractive forces for the functional native states and discrimination against potential nonnative interactions that favor alternate stable configurations. The challenge posed by the competition of nonnative stabilization against native-centric forces is conceptualize...

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Main Authors: Loan Huynh, Chris Neale, Régis Pomès, Hue Sun Chan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-12-01
Series:PLoS Computational Biology
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5757960?pdf=render
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author Loan Huynh
Chris Neale
Régis Pomès
Hue Sun Chan
author_facet Loan Huynh
Chris Neale
Régis Pomès
Hue Sun Chan
author_sort Loan Huynh
collection DOAJ
description Biomolecular recognition entails attractive forces for the functional native states and discrimination against potential nonnative interactions that favor alternate stable configurations. The challenge posed by the competition of nonnative stabilization against native-centric forces is conceptualized as frustration. Experiment indicates that frustration is often minimal in evolved biological systems although nonnative possibilities are intuitively abundant. Much of the physical basis of minimal frustration in protein folding thus remains to be elucidated. Here we make progress by studying the colicin immunity protein Im9. To assess the energetic favorability of nonnative versus native interactions, we compute free energies of association of various combinations of the four helices in Im9 (referred to as H1, H2, H3, and H4) by extensive explicit-water molecular dynamics simulations (total simulated time > 300 μs), focusing primarily on the pairs with the largest native contact surfaces, H1-H2 and H1-H4. Frustration is detected in H1-H2 packing in that a nonnative packing orientation is significantly stabilized relative to native, whereas such a prominent nonnative effect is not observed for H1-H4 packing. However, in contrast to the favored nonnative H1-H2 packing in isolation, the native H1-H2 packing orientation is stabilized by H3 and loop residues surrounding H4. Taken together, these results showcase the contextual nature of molecular recognition, and suggest further that nonnative effects in H1-H2 packing may be largely avoided by the experimentally inferred Im9 folding transition state with native packing most developed at the H1-H4 rather than the H1-H2 interface.
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spelling doaj.art-f66797b325b2422e98c89c32b6db78922022-12-22T00:00:25ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582017-12-011312e100590910.1371/journal.pcbi.1005909Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.Loan HuynhChris NealeRégis PomèsHue Sun ChanBiomolecular recognition entails attractive forces for the functional native states and discrimination against potential nonnative interactions that favor alternate stable configurations. The challenge posed by the competition of nonnative stabilization against native-centric forces is conceptualized as frustration. Experiment indicates that frustration is often minimal in evolved biological systems although nonnative possibilities are intuitively abundant. Much of the physical basis of minimal frustration in protein folding thus remains to be elucidated. Here we make progress by studying the colicin immunity protein Im9. To assess the energetic favorability of nonnative versus native interactions, we compute free energies of association of various combinations of the four helices in Im9 (referred to as H1, H2, H3, and H4) by extensive explicit-water molecular dynamics simulations (total simulated time > 300 μs), focusing primarily on the pairs with the largest native contact surfaces, H1-H2 and H1-H4. Frustration is detected in H1-H2 packing in that a nonnative packing orientation is significantly stabilized relative to native, whereas such a prominent nonnative effect is not observed for H1-H4 packing. However, in contrast to the favored nonnative H1-H2 packing in isolation, the native H1-H2 packing orientation is stabilized by H3 and loop residues surrounding H4. Taken together, these results showcase the contextual nature of molecular recognition, and suggest further that nonnative effects in H1-H2 packing may be largely avoided by the experimentally inferred Im9 folding transition state with native packing most developed at the H1-H4 rather than the H1-H2 interface.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5757960?pdf=render
spellingShingle Loan Huynh
Chris Neale
Régis Pomès
Hue Sun Chan
Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.
PLoS Computational Biology
title Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.
title_full Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.
title_fullStr Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.
title_full_unstemmed Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.
title_short Molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein.
title_sort molecular recognition and packing frustration in a helical protein
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5757960?pdf=render
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AT chrisneale molecularrecognitionandpackingfrustrationinahelicalprotein
AT regispomes molecularrecognitionandpackingfrustrationinahelicalprotein
AT huesunchan molecularrecognitionandpackingfrustrationinahelicalprotein