Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

0 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Exploring biological electron transfer pathway dynamics with the Pathways plugin for VMD.

ABSTRACT: We describe the new Pathways plugin for the molecular visualization program visual molecular dynamics. The plugin identifies and visualizes tunneling pathways and pathway families in biomolecules, and calculates relative electronic couplings. The plugin includes unique features to estimate the importance of individual atoms for mediating the coupling, to analyze the coupling sensitivity to thermal motion, and to visualize pathway fluctuations. The Pathways plugin is open source software distributed under the terms of the GNU's Not Unix (GNU) public license.

SUBMITTER: Balabin IA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3288650 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Publications

Exploring biological electron transfer pathway dynamics with the Pathways plugin for VMD.

Balabin Ilya A IA Hu Xiangqian X Beratan David N DN

Journal of computational chemistry 20120201 8

We describe the new Pathways plugin for the molecular visualization program visual molecular dynamics. The plugin identifies and visualizes tunneling pathways and pathway families in biomolecules, and calculates relative electronic couplings. The plugin includes unique features to estimate the importance of individual atoms for mediating the coupling, to analyze the coupling sensitivity to thermal motion, and to visualize pathway fluctuations. The Pathways plugin is open source software distribu ...[more]

PMID: 22298319

Similar Datasets

Effect of protein dynamics on biological electron transfer.

Project description:Computer simulations of the effect of protein dynamics on the long distance tunneling mediated by the protein matrix have been carried out for a Ru-modified (His 126) azurin molecule. We find that the tunneling matrix element is a sensitive function of the atomic configuration of the part of the protein matrix in which tunneling currents (pathways) are localized. Molecular dynamics simulations show that fluctuations of the matrix element can occur on a time scale as short as 10 fs. These short time fluctuations are an indication of a strong dynamic coupling of a tunneling electron to vibrational motions of the protein nuclear coordinates. The latter results in a modification of the conventional Marcus picture of electron transfer in proteins. The new element in the modified theory is that the tunneling electron is capable of emitting or absorbing vibrational energy (phonons) from the medium. As a result, some biological reactions may occur in an activationless fashion. An analytical theoretical model is proposed to account for thermal fluctuations of the medium in long distance electron transfer reactions. The model shows that, at long distances, the phonon-modified inelastic tunneling always dominates over the conventional elastic tunneling.

| S-EPMC20504 | biostudies-other

Dynamics of electron transfer pathways in cytochrome C oxidase.

Project description:Cytochrome c oxidase mediates the final step of electron transfer reactions in the respiratory chain, catalyzing the transfer between cytochrome c and the molecular oxygen and concomitantly pumping protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane. We investigate the electron transfer reactions in cytochrome c oxidase, particularly the control of the effective electronic coupling by the nuclear thermal motion. The effective coupling is calculated using the Green's function technique with an extended Huckel level electronic Hamiltonian, combined with all-atom molecular dynamics of the protein in a native (membrane and solvent) environment. The effective coupling between Cu(A) and heme a is found to be dominated by the pathway that starts from His(B204). The coupling between heme a and heme a(3) is dominated by a through-space jump between the two heme rings rather than by covalent pathways. In the both steps, the effective electronic coupling is robust to the thermal nuclear vibrations, thereby providing fast and efficient electron transfer.

| S-EPMC1304015 | biostudies-literature

Alternative ground states enable pathway switching in biological electron transfer.

Project description:Electron transfer is the simplest chemical reaction and constitutes the basis of a large variety of biological processes, such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Nature has evolved specific proteins and cofactors for these functions. The mechanisms optimizing biological electron transfer have been matter of intense debate, such as the role of the protein milieu between donor and acceptor sites. Here we propose a mechanism regulating long-range electron transfer in proteins. Specifically, we report a spectroscopic, electrochemical, and theoretical study on WT and single-mutant Cu(A) redox centers from Thermus thermophilus, which shows that thermal fluctuations may populate two alternative ground-state electronic wave functions optimized for electron entry and exit, respectively, through two different and nearly perpendicular pathways. These findings suggest a unique role for alternative or "invisible" electronic ground states in directional electron transfer. Moreover, it is shown that this energy gap and, therefore, the equilibrium between ground states can be fine-tuned by minor perturbations, suggesting alternative ways through which protein-protein interactions and membrane potential may optimize and regulate electron-proton energy transduction.

| S-EPMC3491497 | biostudies-literature

Activating Metal Sites for Biological Electron Transfer.

Project description:This review focuses on the unique spectroscopic features of the blue copper active sites. These reflect a novel electronic structure that activates the site for rapid long-range electron transfer in its biological function. The role of the protein in determining the geometric and electronic structure of this site is defined, as is its contribution to function. This has been referred to as the entatic/rack-induced state. These concepts are then extended to cytochrome c, which is also determined to be in an entatic state.

| S-EPMC5517049 | biostudies-literature

Modular origins of biological electron transfer chains.

Project description:Oxidoreductases catalyze electron transfer reactions that ultimately provide the energy for life. A limited set of ancestral protein-metal modules are presumably the building blocks that evolved into this diverse protein family. However, the identity of these modules and their path to modern oxidoreductases is unknown. Using a comparative structural analysis approach, we identify a set of fundamental electron transfer modules that have evolved to form the extant oxidoreductases. Using transition metal-containing cofactors as fiducial markers, it is possible to cluster cofactor microenvironments into as few as four major modules: bacterial ferredoxin, cytochrome c, symerythrin, and plastocyanin-type folds. From structural alignments, it is challenging to ascertain whether modules evolved from a single common ancestor (homology) or arose by independent convergence on a limited set of structural forms (analogy). Additional insight into common origins is contained in the spatial adjacency network (SPAN), which is based on proximity of modules in oxidoreductases containing multiple cofactor electron transfer chains. Electron transfer chains within complex modern oxidoreductases likely evolved through repeated duplication and diversification of ancient modular units that arose in the Archean eon.

| S-EPMC5819401 | biostudies-literature

Electron transfer pathways in cytochrome c oxidase.

Project description:Mixed quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics calculations were used to explore the electron pathway of the terminal electron transfer enzyme, cytochrome c oxidase. This enzyme catalyzes the reduction of molecular oxygen to water in a multiple step process. Density functional calculations on the three redox centers allowed for the characterization of the electron transfer mechanism, following the sequence Cu(A)→heme a→heme a(3). This process is largely affected by the presence of positive charges, confirming the possibility of a proton coupled electron transfer. An extensive mapping of all residues involved in the electron transfer, between the Cu(A) center (donor) and the O(2) reduction site heme a(3)-Cu(B) (receptor), was obtained by selectively activating/deactivating different quantum regions. The method employed, called QM/MM e-pathway, allowed the identification of key residues along the possible electron transfer paths, consistent with experimental data. In particular, the role of arginines 481 and 482 appears crucial in the Cu(A)→heme a and in the heme a→heme a(3) electron transfer processes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Allosteric cooperativity in respiratory proteins.

| S-EPMC3132828 | biostudies-literature

Resolving orbital pathways for intermolecular electron transfer.

Project description:Over 60 years have passed since Taube deduced an orbital-mediated electron transfer mechanism between distinct metal complexes. This concept of an orbital pathway has been thoroughly explored for donor-acceptor pairs bridged by covalently bonded chemical residues, but an analogous pathway has not yet been conclusively demonstrated for formally outer-sphere systems that lack an intervening bridge. In our present study, we experimentally resolve at an atomic level the orbital interactions necessary for electron transfer through an explicit intermolecular bond. This finding was achieved using a homologous series of surface-immobilized ruthenium catalysts that bear different terminal substituents poised for reaction with redox active species in solution. This arrangement enabled the discovery that intermolecular chalcogen⋯iodide interactions can mediate electron transfer only when these interactions bring the donor and acceptor orbitals into direct contact. This result offers the most direct observation to date of an intermolecular orbital pathway for electron transfer.

| S-EPMC6249235 | biostudies-literature

Photoselected electron transfer pathways in DNA photolyase.

Project description:Cyclobutane dimer photolyases are proteins that bind to UV-damaged DNA containing cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer lesions. They repair these lesions by photo-induced electron transfer. The electron donor cofactor of a photolyase is a two-electron-reduced flavin adenine dinucleotide (FADH(-)). When FADH(-) is photo-excited, it transfers an electron from an excited pi --> pi* singlet state to the pyrimidine dimer lesion of DNA. We compute the lowest excited singlet states of FADH(-) using ab initio (time-dependent density functional theory and time-dependent Hartree-Fock), and semiempirical (INDO/S configuration interaction) methods. The calculations show that the two lowest pi --> pi* singlet states of FADH(-) are localized on the side of the flavin ring that is proximal to the dimer lesion of DNA. For the lowest-energy donor excited state of FADH(-), we compute the conformationally averaged electronic coupling to acceptor states of the thymine dimer. The coupling calculations are performed at the INDO/S level, on donor-acceptor cofactor conformations obtained from molecular dynamics simulations of the solvated protein with a thymine dimer docked in its active site. These calculations demonstrate that the localization of the (1)FADH(-)* donor state on the flavin ring enhances the electronic coupling between the flavin and the dimer by permitting shorter electron-transfer pathways to the dimer that have single through-space jumps. Therefore, in photolyase, the photo-excitation itself enhances the electron transfer rate by moving the electron towards the dimer.

| S-EPMC1783394 | biostudies-literature

Exploring the electron transfer pathway in the oxidation of avermectin by CYP107Z13 in Streptomyces ahygroscopicus ZB01.

Project description:Streptomyces ahygroscopicus ZB01 can effectively oxidize 4″-OH of avermectin to form 4″-oxo-avermectin. CYP107Z13 is responsible for this site-specific oxidation in ZB01. In the present study, we explored the electron transfer pathway in oxidation of avermectin by CYP107Z13 in ZB01. A putative [3Fe-4S] ferredoxin gene fd68 and two possible NADH-dependent ferredoxin reductase genes fdr18 and fdr28 were cloned from the genomic DNA of ZB01. fd68 gene disruption mutants showed no catalytic activity in oxidation of avermectin to form 4″-oxo-avermectin. To clarify whether FdR18 and FdR28 participate in the electron transfer during avermectin oxidation by CYP107Z13, two whole-cell biocatalytic systems were designed in E. coli BL21 (DE3), with one co-expressing CYP107Z13, Fd68 and FdR18 and the other co-expressing CYP107Z13, Fd68 and FdR28. Both of the two biocatalytic systems were found to be able to mediate the oxidation of avermectin to form 4″-oxo-avermectin. Thus, we propose an electron transfer pathway NADH→FdR18/FdR28→Fd68→CYP107Z13 for oxidation of avermectin to form 4″-oxo-avermectin in ZB01.

| S-EPMC4048220 | biostudies-literature

Mechanisms for control of biological electron transfer reactions.

Project description:Electron transfer (ET) through and between proteins is a fundamental biological process. The rates and mechanisms of these ET reactions are controlled by the proteins in which the redox centers that donate and accept electrons reside. The protein influences the magnitudes of the ET parameters, the electronic coupling and reorganization energy that are associated with the ET reaction. The protein can regulate the rates of the ET reaction by requiring reaction steps to optimize the system for ET, leading to kinetic mechanisms of gated or coupled ET. Amino acid residues in the segment of the protein through which long range ET occurs can also modulate the ET rate by serving as staging points for hopping mechanisms of ET. Specific examples are presented to illustrate these mechanisms by which proteins control rates of ET reactions.

| S-EPMC4285783 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data