Structural Capacitance in Protein Evolution and Human Diseases

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Canonical protein evolution relies on gene duplication and mutations.
• Post-translational modifications also influence protein structure and function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify novel mechanisms of protein evolution.
• To investigate the role of structural capacitance in rapid evolution and disease.

Main Methods:

• Survey of the human mutation database.
• Analysis of protein microstructure generation in disordered regions.

Main Results:

• Identified "structural capacitance" as a de novo microstructure generation mechanism.
• Structural capacitance facilitates rapid, saltatory evolution.
• Linked protein microstructure generated by this mechanism to human disease pathogenesis.

Conclusions:

• Structural capacitance offers a distinct pathway for rapid protein evolution.
• This mechanism presents a trade-off between evolutionary potential and disease risk.
• Structural capacitance has implications for understanding protein fold diversification and synthetic protein design.