Can proteins and crystals self-catalyze methyl rotations?
- ORNL
- University of Illinois
The {chi} (C{sub {alpha}}-C{sub {beta}}) torsional barrier in the dipeptide alanine (N-methyl-l-alanyl-N-methylamide) crystal was investigated using ab initio calculations at various levels of theory, molecular mechanics, and molecular dynamics. For one of the two molecules in the asymmetric unit the calculations suggest that rotation around the ? dihedral angle is catalyzed by the crystal environment, reducing by up to 2kT the torsional barrier in the crystal with respect to that in the gas phase. This catalytic effect is present at both low and room temperature and originates from a van der Waals destabilization of the minima in the methyl dihedral potential coming from the nonbonded environment of the side chain. Screening of a subset of the Protein Data Bank with a pharmacophore model reproducing the crystal environment around this side chain methyl identified a protein containing an alanine residue with an environment similar to that in the crystal. Calculations indicate that this ? torsional barrier is also reduced in the protein at low temperature but not at room temperature. This suggests that environment-catalyzed rotation of methyl groups can occur both in the solid phase and in native biological structures, though this effect might be temperature-dependent. The relevance of this catalytic effect is discussed in terms of its natural occurrence and its possible contribution to the low-frequency vibrational modes of molecules.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 932188
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 109, Issue 43; ISSN 1089-5647
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Estimation of reactive fluxes in gradient stochastic systems using an analogy with electric circuits
Dynamic neutron scattering from conformational dynamics. II. Application using molecular dynamics simulation and Markov modeling