Conformational dynamics of a multidomain protein by neutron scattering and computational analysis

Nakagawa, Hiroshi   ; Saio, Tomohide*; Nagao, Michihiro*; Inoue, Rintaro*; Sugiyama, Masaaki*; Ajito, Satoshi; Tominaga, Taiki*; Kawakita, Yukinobu  

A multi-domain protein can have various conformations in solution. Interactions with other molecules result in the stabilization of one of the conformations and change in the domain dynamics. SAXS, a well-established experimental technique, can be employed to elucidate the conformation of a multi-domain protein in solution. NSE spectroscopy is a promising technique for recording the domain dynamics in nanosecond and nanometer scale. Despite the great efforts, there are still under development. Thus, we quantitatively removed the contribution of diffusion dynamics and hydrodynamic interactions from the NSE data via incoherent scattering, revealing the differences in the domain dynamics of the three functional states of a multi-domain protein, MurD. The differences among the three states can be explained by two domain modes.