The elastic free energy of a tandem modular protein under force.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies have provided a theoretical framework for including entropic elasticity in the free energy landscape of proteins under mechanical force. Accounting for entropic elasticity using polymer physics models has helped explain the hopping behavior seen in single molecule experiments in the low force regime. Here, we expand on the construction of the free energy of a single protein domain under force proposed by Berkovich et al. to provide a free energy landscape for N tandem domains along a continuous polypeptide. Calculation of the free energy of individual domains followed by their concatenation provides a continuous free energy landscape whose curvature is dominated by the worm-like chain at forces below 20 pN. We have validated our free energy model using Brownian dynamics and

SUBMITTER: Valle-Orero J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4445072 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature