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Comparative analysis of thermophilic and mesophilic proteins using Protein Energy Networks.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Thermophilic proteins sustain themselves and function at higher temperatures. Despite their structural and functional similarities with their mesophilic homologues, they show enhanced stability. Various comparative studies at genomic, protein sequence and structure levels, and experimental works highlight the different factors and dominant interacting forces contributing to this increased stability. METHODS: In this comparative structure based study, we have used interaction energies between amino acids, to generate structure networks called as Protein Energy Networks (PENs). These PENs are used to compute network, sub-graph, and node specific parameters. These parameters are then compared between the thermophile-mesophile homologues. RESULTS: The results show an increased number of clusters and low energy cliques in thermophiles as the main contributing factors for their enhanced stability. Further more, we see an increase in the number of hubs in thermophiles. We also observe no community of electrostatic cliques forming in PENs. CONCLUSION: In this study we were able to take an energy based network approach, to identify the factors responsible for enhanced stability of thermophiles, by comparative analysis. We were able to point out that the sub-graph parameters are the prominent contributing factors. The thermophiles have a better-packed hydrophobic core. We have also discussed how thermophiles, although increasing stability through higher connectivity retains conformational flexibility, from a cliques and communities perspective.

SUBMITTER: Vijayabaskar MS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3009521 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparative analysis of thermophilic and mesophilic proteins using Protein Energy Networks.

Vijayabaskar M S MS Vishveshwara Saraswathi S

BMC bioinformatics 20100118

<h4>Background</h4>Thermophilic proteins sustain themselves and function at higher temperatures. Despite their structural and functional similarities with their mesophilic homologues, they show enhanced stability. Various comparative studies at genomic, protein sequence and structure levels, and experimental works highlight the different factors and dominant interacting forces contributing to this increased stability.<h4>Methods</h4>In this comparative structure based study, we have used interac ...[more]

PMID: 20122223

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Project description:BackgroundA wide variety of stabilizing factors have been invoked so far to elucidate the structural basis of protein thermostability. These include, amongst the others, a higher number of ion-pairs interactions and hydrogen bonds, together with a better packing of hydrophobic residues. It has been frequently observed that packing of hydrophobic side chains is improved in hyperthermophilic proteins, when compared to their mesophilic counterparts. In this work, protein crystal structures from hyper/thermophilic organisms and their mesophilic homologs have been compared, in order to quantify the difference of apolar contact area and to assess the role played by the hydrophobic contacts in the stabilization of the protein core, at high temperatures.ResultsThe construction of two datasets was carried out so as to satisfy several restrictive criteria, such as minimum redundancy, resolution and R-value thresholds and lack of any structural defect in the collected structures. This approach allowed to quantify with relatively high precision the apolar contact area between interacting residues, reducing the uncertainty due to the position of atoms in the crystal structures, the redundancy of data and the size of the dataset. To identify the common core regions of these proteins, the study was focused on segments that conserve a similar main chain conformation in the structures analyzed, excluding the intervening regions whose structure differs markedly. The results indicated that hyperthermophilic proteins underwent a significant increase of the hydrophobic contact area contributed by those residues composing the alpha-helices of the structurally conserved regions.ConclusionThis study indicates the decreased flexibility of alpha-helices in proteins core as a major factor contributing to the enhanced termostability of a number of hyperthermophilic proteins. This effect, in turn, may be due to an increased number of buried methyl groups in the protein core and/or a better packing of alpha-helices with the rest of the structure, caused by the presence of hydrophobic beta-branched side chains.

Dataset Information

Comparative analysis of thermophilic and mesophilic proteins using Protein Energy Networks.

Publications

Comparative analysis of thermophilic and mesophilic proteins using Protein Energy Networks.

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