4 ms·
is it also accurate to say that proteins may fold differently based on temperature, ph, and other factors? meaning a protein could fold in multiple ways (simil
by panabee 4y ago
is it also accurate to say that proteins may fold differently based on temperature, ph, and other factors?
meaning a protein could fold in multiple ways (similar to a swiss army knife "folding" into different shapes), and alphafold only predicts a subset of these for now (which is still amazing).
- dekhn 4y agoYes, absolutely. Proteins can fold to different target structures (that are very distinct from each other) and get stuck in those states for long periods of time, even if the state isn't the global energy minimum. The list of reasons for this- both functionally and inadvertently- is extremely long. But the long and short of it is that the ability of proteins to reproducibly fold to a single structure was figured out using this technique- putting an already folded protein into a very strong solution (of Urea or guanidinum chloride), detecting that it "unfolded", then putting it back into salty water and watching it reform to the same original structure. lots more detail here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anfinsen%27s_dogma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anfinsen%27s_dogma (this dogma is literally the core of protein folding/structure prediction/function prediction). Even more detail here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofmeister_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofmeister_series which is basically a series of progressively stronger solutions that interfere with water/protein interactions and disrupt or enhance folding. This data was key to establishing that hydrophobic collapse (one of the dominant models for how proteins spontaneously form structure) is a significant force in driving folding free energy.
- flobosg 4y ago> is it also accurate to say that proteins may fold differently based on temperature, ph, and other factors? Yes, look up “metamorphic proteins”.