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Article: The Mechanical Unfolding of Ubiquitin through All-Atom Monte Carlo Simulation with a Go-Type Potential
- Article from:
- Biophysical Journal
- Article date:
- March 15, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Biophysical Society Mar 15, 2007. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT
The mechanical unfolding of proteins under a stretching force has an important role in living systems and is a logical extension of the more general protein folding problem. Recent advances in experimental methodology have allowed the stretching of single molecules, thus rendering this process ripe for computational study. We use all-atom Monte Carlo simulation with a Go-type potential to study the mechanical unfolding pathway of ubiquitin. A detailed, robust, well-defined pathway is found, confirming existing results in this vein though using a different model. Additionally, we identify the protein's fundamental stabilizing secondary structure interactions in the presence of a ...