Molecular dynamics simulations of the cytochrome c3-rubredoxin complex from Desulfovibrio vulgaris

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out on the complex formed between the tetraheme cytochrome c3 and the iron protein rubredoxin from the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris. These simulations were performed both with explicit solvent water molecules included, and without solvent molecules using a distance-dependent dielectric constant to approximate the screening effects of solvent. The results of both simulations are strikingly different, indicating that the representation of environmental effects is important in such simulations. For example, a striking adaptation of the two proteins seen in the nonsolvated simulation is not seen when explicit solvent water is included; in fact, the complex appears to become weaker in the solvated simulation. Nonetheless, the iron-iron distance decreases more significantly in the solvated simulation than in the nonsolvated simulation. It was found that in both cases molecular dynamics optimized the structures further than energy minimization alone.