A molecular perspective on the limits of life: Enzymes under pressure
Abstract
From a purely operational standpoint, the existence of microbes that can grow under extreme conditions, or “extremophiles”, leads to the question of how the molecules making up these microbes can maintain both their structure and function. While microbes that live under extremes of temperature have been heavily studied, those that live under extremes of pressure have been neglected, in part due to the difficulty of collecting samples and performing experiments under the ambient conditions of the microbe. However, thermodynamic arguments imply that the effects of pressure might lead to different organismal solutions than the effects of temperature. Observationally, some of these solutions might be in the condensed matter properties of the intracellular milieu in addition to genetic modifications of the macromolecules or repair mechanisms for the macromolecules. Here, the effects of pressure on enzymes, which are proteins essential for the growth and reproduction of an organism, and some adaptations against these effects are reviewed and amplified by results from molecular dynamics simulations. The aim is to provide biological background for soft matter studies of these systems under pressure.
- Authors:
-
- Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
- Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Carnegie Inst. of Washington, Washington, DC (United States). Geophysical Lab.
- Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography
- Carnegie Inst. of Washington, Washington, DC (United States). Geophysical Lab.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Carnegie Inst. of Science, Washington, DC (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1361517
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1364607
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0002006
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 19; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 1607-324X
- Publisher:
- Institute for Condensed Matter Physics
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; enzymes; hydrostatic; intracellular environment
Citation Formats
Huang, Q., Tran, K. N., Rodgers, J. M., Bartlett, D. H., Hemley, R. J., and Ichiye, T. A molecular perspective on the limits of life: Enzymes under pressure. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.5488/CMP.19.22801.
Huang, Q., Tran, K. N., Rodgers, J. M., Bartlett, D. H., Hemley, R. J., & Ichiye, T. A molecular perspective on the limits of life: Enzymes under pressure. United States. https://doi.org/10.5488/CMP.19.22801
Huang, Q., Tran, K. N., Rodgers, J. M., Bartlett, D. H., Hemley, R. J., and Ichiye, T. Tue .
"A molecular perspective on the limits of life: Enzymes under pressure". United States. https://doi.org/10.5488/CMP.19.22801. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1361517.
@article{osti_1361517,
title = {A molecular perspective on the limits of life: Enzymes under pressure},
author = {Huang, Q. and Tran, K. N. and Rodgers, J. M. and Bartlett, D. H. and Hemley, R. J. and Ichiye, T.},
abstractNote = {From a purely operational standpoint, the existence of microbes that can grow under extreme conditions, or “extremophiles”, leads to the question of how the molecules making up these microbes can maintain both their structure and function. While microbes that live under extremes of temperature have been heavily studied, those that live under extremes of pressure have been neglected, in part due to the difficulty of collecting samples and performing experiments under the ambient conditions of the microbe. However, thermodynamic arguments imply that the effects of pressure might lead to different organismal solutions than the effects of temperature. Observationally, some of these solutions might be in the condensed matter properties of the intracellular milieu in addition to genetic modifications of the macromolecules or repair mechanisms for the macromolecules. Here, the effects of pressure on enzymes, which are proteins essential for the growth and reproduction of an organism, and some adaptations against these effects are reviewed and amplified by results from molecular dynamics simulations. The aim is to provide biological background for soft matter studies of these systems under pressure.},
doi = {10.5488/CMP.19.22801},
journal = {Condensed Matter Physics},
number = 2,
volume = 19,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}
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