Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Interactive Molecular Model Assembly with 3D Printing
Published on: August 13, 2020
Mapping transiently formed and sparsely populated conformations on a complex energy landscape
Yong Wang1, Elena Papaleo1, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen1
1Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Enhanced sampling molecular dynamics simulations accurately mapped protein conformational exchange. This method revealed a new ligand escape tunnel in T4 lysozyme, advancing protein dynamics studies.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Computational Biology
- Structural Biology
Background:
- Conformational exchange in proteins is challenging to study at an atomic level.
- Transiently formed protein conformations are difficult to characterize experimentally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To benchmark enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics simulations for protein conformational landscapes.
- To investigate the L99A cavity mutant of T4 lysozyme.
Main Methods:
- Enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics simulations.
- Free energy landscape determination.
- Comparison with NMR relaxation dispersion data.
Main Results:
- Simulations accurately reproduced experimental NMR data for protein conformational exchange.
- The structure of a minor protein conformation was determined.
- A novel tunnel facilitating ligand escape was discovered.
Conclusions:
- Enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics is a powerful tool for studying protein conformational dynamics.
- The findings provide a comprehensive view of T4 lysozyme's structural landscape.
- This approach can be applied to less experimentally characterized systems.
More Related Videos
09:42Unraveling Entropic Rate Acceleration Induced by Solvent Dynamics in Membrane Enzymes
Published on: January 16, 2016
09:17Structure-Based Simulation and Sampling of Transcription Factor Protein Movements along DNA from Atomic-Scale Stepping to Coarse-Grained Diffusion
Published on: March 1, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Energy to Drive Translocation
Generally, polypeptides are unfolded by two distinct...
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally...
Conserved Binding Sites
Conformations of Butane
Conformations of Cyclohexane
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal...