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Recent improvements in the accuracy of structure-based methods for the prediction of nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts have inspired numerous approaches for determining the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins. Such advances also suggest the possibility of using chemical shifts to characterize the conformational fluctuations of these molecules. Here we describe a method of using methyl chemical shifts as restraints in replica-averaged molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which enables us to determine the conformational ensemble of the HU dimer and characterize the range of motions accessible to its flexible β-arms. Our analysis suggests that the bending action of HU on DNA is mediated by a mechanical clamping mechanism, in which metastable structural intermediates sampled during the hinge motions of the β-arms in the free state are presculpted to bind DNA. These results illustrate that using side-chain chemical shift data in conjunction with MD simulations can provide quantitative information about the free energy landscapes of proteins and yield detailed insights into their functional mechanisms.

Original publication

DOI

10.1021/ja4105396

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Am Chem Soc

Publication Date

12/02/2014

Volume

136

Pages

2204 - 2207

Keywords

Bacterial Proteins, Binding Sites, DNA, DNA-Binding Proteins, Dimerization, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Methane, Molecular Conformation, Molecular Dynamics Simulation