Allosteric transitions of supramolecular systems explored by network models: application to chaperonin GroEL.

ABSTRACT: Identification of pathways involved in the structural transitions of biomolecular systems is often complicated by the transient nature of the conformations visited across energy barriers and the multiplicity of paths accessible in the multidimensional energy landscape. This task becomes even more challenging in exploring molecular systems on the order of megadaltons. Coarse-grained models that lend themselves to analytical solutions appear to be the only possible means of approaching such cases. Motivated by the utility of elastic network models for describing the collective dynamics of biomolecular systems and by the growing theoretical and experimental evidence in support of the intrinsic accessibility of functional substates, we introduce a new method, adaptive anisotropic network model

SUBMITTER: Yang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2664929 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature