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Updated: May 20, 2026

Study of Protein Dynamics via Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy
Published on: April 13, 2022
The relation of the X-ray B-factor to protein dynamics: insights from recent dynamic solid-state NMR data
Detlef Reichert1, Tatiana Zinkevich, Kay Saalwächter
1Institut für Physik - NMR, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Betty-Heimann-Str. 7, Halle, 06120, Germany. detlef.reichert@physik.uni-halle.de
Abstract:
In addressing the potential use of B-factors derived from X-ray scattering data of proteins for the understanding the (functional) dynamics of proteins, we present a comparison of B-factors of five different proteins (SH3 domain, Crh, GB1, ubiquitin and thioredoxin) with data from recent solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance experiments reflecting true (rotational) dynamics on well-defined timescales. Apart from trivial correlations involving mobile loop regions and chain termini, we find no significant correlation of B-factors with the dynamic data on any of the investigated timescales, concluding that there is no unique and general correlation of B-factors with the internal reorientational dynamics of proteins.
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