Using VIPT-jump to distinguish between different folding mechanisms: application to BBL and a Trpzip.

ABSTRACT: Protein folding involves a large number of sequential molecular steps or conformational substates. Thus, experimental characterization of the underlying folding energy landscape for any given protein is difficult. Herein, we present a new method that can be used to determine the major characteristics of the folding energy landscape in question, e.g., to distinguish between activated and barrierless downhill folding scenarios. This method is based on the idea that the conformational relaxation kinetics of different folding mechanisms at a given final condition will show different dependences on the initial condition. We show, using both simulation and experiment, that it is possible to differentiate between disparate kinetic folding models by comparing temperature jump (T-jump) relaxation t

SUBMITTER: Lin CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3706100 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature