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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Unraveling Entropic Rate Acceleration Induced by Solvent Dynamics in Membrane Enzymes
Published on: January 16, 2016
Conservation of Dynamics Associated with Biological Function in an Enzyme Superfamily
Chitra Narayanan1, David N Bernard1, Khushboo Bafna2
1INRS - Institut Armand-Frappier, Université du Québec, 531 Boulevard des Prairies, Laval, QC H7V 1B7, Canada.
Abstract:
Enzyme superfamily members that share common chemical and/or biological functions also share common features. While the role of structure is well characterized, the link between enzyme function and dynamics is not well understood. We present a systematic characterization of intrinsic dynamics of over 20 members of the pancreatic-type RNase superfamily, which share a common structural fold. This study is motivated by the fact that the range of chemical activity as well as molecular motions of RNase homologs spans over 105 folds. Dynamics was characterized using a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and computer simulations. Phylogenetic clustering led to the grouping of sequences into functionally distinct subfamilies. Detailed characterization of the diverse RNases showed conserved dynamical traits for enzymes within subfamilies. These results suggest that selective pressure for the conservation of dynamical behavior, among other factors, may be linked to the distinct chemical and biological functions in an enzyme superfamily.
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