Professor Michael Feig
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Monday, October 18, 2010
3:00 pm (CT)
3269 Beckman Institute

Abstract

Membrane-interacting peptides play important biological roles ranging from regulatory to pathological functions. Most of these peptides exhibit significant conformational dynamics that is often difficult to capture with experimental techniques. Computer simulations are presented here to describe the dynamics of membrane- interacting peptides in atomistic detail. The simulations take advantage of an implicit membrane model that approximates membrane environments with a mean-field model so that biologically relevant time scales can be studied. The specific focus is on the following two systems: phospholamban, which regulates the heart-muscle calcium pump SERCA, and viral fusion peptides from influenza and Ebola virus. Simulation results for both systems are compared with experimental data and interpreted with respect to their biological function.