How Fast-Folding Proteins Fold
Top Cited Papers
- 28 October 2011
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 334 (6055), 517-520
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1208351
Abstract
An outstanding challenge in the field of molecular biology has been to understand the process by which proteins fold into their characteristic three-dimensional structures. Here, we report the results of atomic-level molecular dynamics simulations, over periods ranging between 100 μs and 1 ms, that reveal a set of common principles underlying the folding of 12 structurally diverse proteins. In simulations conducted with a single physics-based energy function, the proteins, representing all three major structural classes, spontaneously and repeatedly fold to their experimentally determined native structures. Early in the folding process, the protein backbone adopts a nativelike topology while certain secondary structure elements and a small number of nonlocal contacts form. In most cases, folding follows a single dominant route in which elements of the native structure appear in an order highly correlated with their propensity to form in the unfolded state.Keywords
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