Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Enzymes02:34

Enzymes

95.0K
Inside living organisms, enzymes act as catalysts for many biochemical reactions involved in cellular metabolism. The role of enzymes is to reduce the activation energies of biochemical reactions by forming complexes with its substrates. The lowering of activation energies favor an increase in the rates of biochemical reactions.
Enzyme deficiencies can often translate into life-threatening diseases. For example, a genetic abnormality resulting in the deficiency of the enzyme G6PD...
95.0K
Conformity01:20

Conformity

48.2K
Conformity is the change in a person’s behavior to go along with the group, even if that person does not agree with the group.
48.2K
The Evidence for Evolution02:55

The Evidence for Evolution

48.3K
Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.
48.3K
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

33.0K
Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.
33.0K
Conformations of Butane02:20

Conformations of Butane

18.2K
Unlike ethane and propane that have only two major conformations, butane has more than two conformers. The staggered form of butane in which the bulky methyl groups on the two carbons are placed on opposite sides, that is, at a dihedral angle of 180°, is the lowest energy, most stable form — called the anti conformer. This conformation is stabilized due to the absence of steric repulsion between the largely spaced out methyl groups. The other two staggered conformations are...
18.2K
Enzyme Kinetics01:19

Enzyme Kinetics

104.2K
Enzymes speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy of the reactants. The speed at which the enzyme turns reactants into products is called the rate of reaction. Several factors impact the rate of reaction, including the number of available reactants. Enzyme kinetics is the study of how an enzyme changes the rate of a reaction.
Scientists typically study enzyme kinetics with a fixed amount of enzyme in the controlled environment of a test tube. When more reactant, or substrate, is...
104.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Substrate scope of ancestral versus modern family-1 glycosidases.

Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society·2026
Same author

A molecular stabiliser of an inhibitory eIF2B-eIF2(αP) complex activates the Integrated Stress Response.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Hypercompetition, score compression and AI co-authorship: a perfect storm for grant success rates.

EMBO reports·2026
Same author

Cancer-Causing Mutations Alter the Interplay Between Loop Dynamics and Catalysis in the Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases SHP-1 and SHP-2.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

An enzymatic microfluidic sensor for β-lactam antibiotics based on cross-linked ancestral β-lactamase crystals.

Nanoscale advances·2026
Same author

Conformational Dynamics and Catalytic Backups in a Hyper-thermostable Engineered Archaeal Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase.

JACS Au·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Monitoring Conformational Dynamics of Single Unmodified Proteins using Plasmonic Nanotweezers
09:33

Monitoring Conformational Dynamics of Single Unmodified Proteins using Plasmonic Nanotweezers

Published on: March 21, 2025

1.5K

Conformational dynamics and enzyme evolution.

Dušan Petrović1, Valeria A Risso2, Shina Caroline Lynn Kamerlin3

  • 1Department of Chemistry, BMC, Uppsala University, Box 576, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
|July 20, 2018
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Enzyme evolution is driven by dynamics, with conformational diversity enabling new functions. Evolutionary paths enrich or stabilize specific enzyme conformations, sometimes through distant mutations, facilitating adaptation and the emergence of new active sites.

Keywords:
conformational ensemblesconformational shiftsde novo enzymesenzyme evolutionmultifunctional enzymesprimordial enzymes

More Related Videos

Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Receptors Using Single-Molecule FRET
10:59

Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Receptors Using Single-Molecule FRET

Published on: August 17, 2022

3.8K
Single-Molecule FRET Imaging for Observing the Conformational Dynamics of Dynamin-Like GTPase Atlastin
10:19

Single-Molecule FRET Imaging for Observing the Conformational Dynamics of Dynamin-Like GTPase Atlastin

Published on: January 24, 2025

1.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Monitoring Conformational Dynamics of Single Unmodified Proteins using Plasmonic Nanotweezers
09:33

Monitoring Conformational Dynamics of Single Unmodified Proteins using Plasmonic Nanotweezers

Published on: March 21, 2025

1.5K
Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Receptors Using Single-Molecule FRET
10:59

Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Receptors Using Single-Molecule FRET

Published on: August 17, 2022

3.8K
Single-Molecule FRET Imaging for Observing the Conformational Dynamics of Dynamin-Like GTPase Atlastin
10:19

Single-Molecule FRET Imaging for Observing the Conformational Dynamics of Dynamin-Like GTPase Atlastin

Published on: January 24, 2025

1.1K

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Enzyme function is intrinsically linked to their dynamic properties.
  • The role of enzyme dynamics in evolution has been recognized but molecular details are emerging.
  • Conformational diversity is key to enzyme adaptation and functional innovation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the molecular mechanisms linking enzyme dynamics and evolution.
  • To explore how conformational ensembles facilitate functional optimization and emergence of new activities.
  • To investigate the role of conformational flexibility in the early evolution of enzymes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing advanced computational and experimental approaches.
  • Analyzing evolutionary trajectories and their impact on protein conformational ensembles.
  • Investigating the role of mutations in shifting enzyme conformations.

Main Results:

  • Evolutionary processes enrich catalytically competent conformations or stabilize functional states.
  • Distant mutations can alter protein ensembles, favoring productive conformations.
  • Conformational diversity aids in the emergence of new active sites, potentially via transition-state binding.
  • Multifunctional enzymes likely exist as multi-conformational states.

Conclusions:

  • Enzyme evolution is critically dependent on modulating conformational dynamics.
  • Conformational flexibility is a significant factor in enzyme adaptation and the origin of new functions.
  • This mechanism may have been crucial for early enzyme emergence under primordial conditions.