Dresden 2017 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 24: Posters - Protein Structure and Dynamics

BP 24.2: Poster

Tuesday, March 21, 2017, 14:00–16:00, P1A

Molecular dynamics study of the mechanical stability of dimeric coiled-coils under strain — •Chuanfu Luo, Ana Vila Verde, and Reinhard Lipowsky — Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14476 Potsdam, Germany

Coiled-coils (CCs) are ubiquitous folding motifs found in proteins. Dimeric CCs consist of two alpha-helices wrapped around each other in a super helix configuration. In biological systems, CCs are highly versatile: they play an important role in various intracellular regulation processes as well as in membrane fusion. Their unusual structure suggests that it may also be possible to use them as biological force sensors to detect forces involved in biochemical processes in vivo. We investigated this possibility by carrying out Steered Molecular Dynamics to simulate the shear pulling of de novo designed coiled-coils with different lengths. We found that the pulling force at slow pull appears to be independent of either the initial length or the contact length of the coiled-coils. Analysis shows that there are two pathways when pulling CCs: "opening of helices" at fast pulling speeds, and "step-wise sliding" at slower speeds.