Single-molecule unfolding force distributions reveal a funnel-shaped energy landscape

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Technical University of Munich

Abstract

The protein folding process is described as diffusion on a high-dimensional energy landscape. Experimental data showing details of the underlying energy surface are essential to understanding folding. So far in single-molecule mechanical unfolding experiments a simplified model assuming a force-independent transition state has been used to extract such information. Here we show that this so-called Bell model, although fitting well to force velocity data, fails to reproduce full unfolding force distributions. We show that by applying Kramers' diffusion model, we were able to reconstruct a detailed funnel-like curvature of the underlying energy landscape and establish full agreement with the data. We demonstrate that obtaining spatially resolved details of the unfolding energy landscape from mechanical single-molecule protein unfolding experiments requires models that go beyond the Bell model.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L33-L35
Number of pages3
JournalBiophysical journal
Volume90
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2006
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 33645767959
ORCID /0000-0002-6209-2364/work/142237650

Keywords

Keywords

  • ADHESION BONDS, PROTEIN, SPECTROSCOPY, STRENGTH