Stabilizing proteins from sequence statistics: the interplay of conservation and correlation in triosephosphate isomerase stability.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the determinants of protein stability remains one of protein science's greatest challenges. There are still no computational solutions that calculate the stability effects of even point mutations with sufficient reliability for practical use. Amino acid substitutions rarely increase the stability of native proteins; hence, large libraries and high-throughput screens or selections are needed to stabilize proteins using directed evolution. Consensus mutations have proven effective for increasing stability, but these mutations are successful only about half the time. We set out to understand why some consensus mutations fail to stabilize, and what criteria might be useful to predict stabilization more accurately. Overall, consensus mutations at more conserved positions were more

SUBMITTER: Sullivan BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3578383 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature