Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group (TCBG) wins a triple header.

Researchers of the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group have published three papers in a single issue of the prestigeous journal Structure.

  1. Tuning the mechanical stability of fibronectin type III modules through sequence variation. David Craig, Mu Gao, Klaus Schulten, and Viola Vogel.
    Structure, 12: 21-30, 2004.

    Using steered molecular dynamics, the authors investigated how the mechanical stability of FnIII modules from the cell adhesion protein fibronectin is affected by natural variations in their amino acid sequences. More on the subject can be found here.

    The paper was introduced in a commentary in the same issue of Structure:
    FnIII Domains: Predicting Mechanical Stability. Ross W. S. Rounsevell and Jane Clarke.
    Structure, 12: 4-5, 2004.

  2. Molecular Basis of Proton Blockage in Aquaporins. Nilmadhab Chakrabarti, Emad Tajkhorshid, Benoît Roux, and Régis Pomès.
    Structure, 12: 65-74, 2004.

    The authors examined in this paper the molecular basis for the blockage of proton translocation through the single-file water chain in the pore of a bacterial aquaporin, GlpF. More on the subject can be found here.

  3. Structural basis for cooperative DNA binding by CAP and Lac repressor. Alexander Balaeff, L. Mahadevan, and Klaus Schulten.
    Structure, 12: 123-132, 2004.

    The authors derive a multiscale model of the ternary protein - DNA complex from crystal structures of the lac repressor and catabolic activator protein, togetehr with DNA decribed mathematically through the theory of elasticity. More information on the project can be found here.

    This article was introduced in a commentary in the same issue of Structure:
    Spanning the Length Scales of Biomolecular Simulation. Willy Wriggers
    Structure, 12: 1-2, 2004.