dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaTwo-state folding over a weak free-energy barrier
| Authors | Giorgio Favrin, Anders Irbäck, Björn Samuelsson, Stefan Wallin |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0312046 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0312046 |
| DOI | 10.1016/S0006-3495(03)74578-0 |
| Journal | Biophys. J. 85 (2003) 1457-1465 |
Abstract
We present a Monte Carlo study of a model protein with 54 amino acids that folds directly to its native three-helix-bundle state without forming any well-defined intermediate state. The free-energy barrier separating the native and unfolded states of this protein is found to be weak, even at the folding temperature. Nevertheless, we find that melting curves to a good approximation can be described in terms of a simple two-state system, and that the relaxation behavior is close to single exponential. The motion along individual reaction coordinates is roughly diffusive on timescales beyond the reconfiguration time for an individual helix. A simple estimate based on diffusion in a square-well potential predicts the relaxation time within a factor of two.
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"abstract": "We present a Monte Carlo study of a model protein with 54 amino acids that\nfolds directly to its native three-helix-bundle state without forming any\nwell-defined intermediate state. The free-energy barrier separating the native\nand unfolded states of this protein is found to be weak, even at the folding\ntemperature. Nevertheless, we find that melting curves to a good approximation\ncan be described in terms of a simple two-state system, and that the relaxation\nbehavior is close to single exponential. The motion along individual reaction\ncoordinates is roughly diffusive on timescales beyond the reconfiguration time\nfor an individual helix. A simple estimate based on diffusion in a square-well\npotential predicts the relaxation time within a factor of two.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0312046",
"authors": [
"Giorgio Favrin",
"Anders Irb\u00e4ck",
"Bj\u00f6rn Samuelsson",
"Stefan Wallin"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.BM",
"cond-mat.soft"
],
"doi": "10.1016/S0006-3495(03)74578-0",
"journal_ref": "Biophys. J. 85 (2003) 1457-1465",
"title": "Two-state folding over a weak free-energy barrier",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0312046"
},
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