Effect of atom- and group-based truncations on biomolecules simulated with reaction-field electrostatics

The performance of the reaction-field method of electrostatics is tested in molecular dynamics simulations of protein human interleukin-4 and a short DNA fragment in explicit solvent. Two truncation schemes are considered: one based on the position of atomic charges in water molecules and the other on the position of groups of charges. The group-based truncation leads to the melting of the DNA double helix. In contrast, the atom-based truncation maintains the helical structure intact. Similarly for the protein, the group-based truncation leads to an unfolding at pH 2 while the atom-based truncation produces stable trajectories at low and normal pH, in agreement with experiment. Artificial repulsion between charged residues associated with the group-based truncation is identified as the microscopic reason behind unfolding of the protein. Implications of different truncation schemes in reaction-field simulations of biomolecules are discussed.