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Röder K, Wales DJ. The Energy Landscape Perspective: Encoding Structure and Function for Biomolecules. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:820792. [PMID: 35155579 PMCID: PMC8829389 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.820792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The energy landscape perspective is outlined with particular reference to biomolecules that perform multiple functions. We associate these multifunctional molecules with multifunnel energy landscapes, illustrated by some selected examples, where understanding the organisation of the landscape has provided new insight into function. Conformational selection and induced fit may provide alternative routes to realisation of multifunctionality, exploiting the possibility of environmental control and distinct binding modes.
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Mattelaer CA, Maiti M, Smets L, Maiti M, Schepers G, Mattelaer HP, Rosemeyer H, Herdewijn P, Lescrinier E. Stable Hairpin Structures Formed by Xylose-Based Nucleic Acids. Chembiochem 2021; 22:1638-1645. [PMID: 33427360 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Xenobiology explores synthetic nucleic acid polymers as alternative carriers of genetic information to expand the central dogma. The xylo- and deoxyxylo-nucleic acids (XyNA and dXyNA), containing 3' epimers of riboses and deoxyriboses, are considered to be potential candidates for an orthogonal system. In this study, thermal and spectroscopic analyses show that XyNA and dXyNA form stable hairpins. The dXyNA hairpin structure determined by NMR spectroscopy contains a flexible loop that locks the stem into a stable ladder-like duplex with marginal right-handed helicity. The reduced flexibility of the dXyNA duplex observed in the stem of the hairpin demonstrates that folding of dXyNA yields more stable structures described so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles-Alexandre Mattelaer
- Medicinal Chemistry, KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1041, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Mohitosh Maiti
- Medicinal Chemistry, KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1041, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laurent Smets
- Research Centre for Operations Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 69, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Munmun Maiti
- Medicinal Chemistry, KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1041, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Guy Schepers
- Medicinal Chemistry, KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1041, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Henri-Philippe Mattelaer
- Medicinal Chemistry, KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1041, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Present address: Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis, and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS), KU Leuven (Arenberg), Celestijnenlaan 200f, Box 2454, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Helmut Rosemeyer
- Organische Materialchemie (OMC), Universität Osnabrück, Institut für Chemie neuer Materialien, Barbarastraße 7, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Piet Herdewijn
- Medicinal Chemistry, KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1041, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Eveline Lescrinier
- Medicinal Chemistry, KU Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1041, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
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Sharpe DJ, Röder K, Wales DJ. Energy Landscapes of Deoxyxylo- and Xylo-Nucleic Acid Octamers. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:4062-4068. [PMID: 32336100 PMCID: PMC7304908 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c01420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
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Artificial
analogues of the natural nucleic acids have attracted
interest as a diverse class of information storage molecules capable
of self-replication. In this study, we use the computational potential
energy landscape framework to investigate the structural and dynamical
properties of xylo- and deoxyxylo-nucleic acids (XyNA and dXyNA),
which are derived from their respective RNA and DNA analogues by inversion
of a single chiral center in the sugar moiety of the nucleotides.
For an octameric XyNA sequence and the analogue dXyNA, we observe
facile conformational transitions between a left-handed helix, which
is the free energy global minimum, and a ladder-type structure with
approximately zero helicity. The competing ensembles are better separated
in the dXyNA, making it a more suitable candidate for a molecular
switch, whereas the XyNA exhibits additional flexibility. Both energy
landscapes exhibit greater frustration than we observe in RNA or DNA,
in agreement with the higher degree of optimization expected from
the principle of minimal frustration in evolved biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Konstantin Röder
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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