Molecular Basis of the Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure on Protein Stability

有了这个奖项，化学部生命过程计划的化学正在资助伦斯勒理工学院的乔治·马哈塔泽教授研究各种物理化学相互作用在确定蛋白质稳定性的压力依赖性方面的作用。 压力是一个重要的环境变量，在许多极端生物（称为嗜压生物）的生物适应中起着至关重要的作用。 这项研究项目将依赖于计算机模拟和实验之间的协同作用。 计算机模拟将为分析蛋白质去折叠后的体积变化提供坚实的理论框架。 将进行实验以验证计算机模拟。 特别是，这些工作人员将测试一个假设，即来自嗜压生物的蛋白质具有体积特性，即使在高静水压力下也能保持折叠状态。 该项目吸引高中生、本科生和研究生参与实验室研究的计算和实验方面。 在招聘受训人员时，将特别努力让妇女和（或）代表性不足的少数群体成员参与。 PI还积极参与课程开发，并担任伦斯勒理工学院生物化学和生物物理专业的本科课程顾问。 拟议的工作将提供一个显着的改进蛋白质的稳定性模型，将体积变化的温度依赖性结合进化生物学的概念与生物化学和生物物理工具，如核磁共振，差示扫描量热法以及计算工具。 预计这些实验积累的知识将为了解极端条件下影响蛋白质折叠和稳定性的因素奠定基础。从长远来看，希望这里学到的经验教训将为生物物理化学家提供新的见解，因为他们试图设计具有活性和稳健性的酶。 预计工业生物技术和过程化学将产生更广泛的科学影响，特别是当这些科学家寻求开发强大的生物材料并用下一代环境友好的催化工艺取代当前工艺时。

With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Professor George Makhatadze of Rensselaer Polytechnic Instiute to investigate the role of various physical-chemical interactions in determining the pressure dependence of protein stability. Pressure is an important environmental variable that plays an essential role in biological adaptation for many extremophilic organisms, called barophiles. This research project will rely upon the synergy between computer simulations and experiments. Computer simulations will provide solid theoretical framework for the analysis of the volume changes upon protein unfolding. Experiments will be performed to validate the computer simulations. In particular, these workers will be testing a hypothesis that proteins from barophilic organisms have volumetric properties that allow them to remain folded, even at elevated hydrostatic pressure. This project engages high school, undergraduate and graduate students in both computational and experimental aspects of the research in the laboratory. In recruiting trainees, there will be a particular effort to engage women and/or members of underrepresented minorities. The PI is also actively involved in curriculum development and serves as an undergraduate curriculum adviser for Biochemistry and Biophysics majors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The proposed work will provide a significant refinement of a protein stability model to incorporate temperature dependencies of volume changes by combining concepts of evolutionary biology with biochemical and biophysical tools such as nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry as well as computational tools. It is expected that the knowledge accumulated as a result of these experiments will lay the foundation to understand the factors that affect protein folding and stability under extreme conditions. In the longer term, it is hoped that the lessons learned here will provide biophysical chemists with new insights as they seek to design enzymes with that are both active and robust. Broader scientific impacts in industrial biotechnology and in process chemsitry are anticipated, particularly as these scientists seek to develop robust biomaterials and replace current processes with next generation, environmentally friendly catalytic processes.