Do vibrational spectroscopies uniquely describe protein dynamics? The case for myoglobin

W. Bialek, R. F. Goldstein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

We develop a quasi-harmonic description of protein dynamics and apply this description to the anomalous Mössbauer, infrared, x-ray diffraction, and EXAFS (extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy) data that are available for myoglobin (Mb) and its interactions with carbon monoxide (CO). In the quasi-harmonic approximation the dynamical parameters derived from these spectroscopic data are relevant in the calculation of reaction rates, and we give a quantitative description of the nonexponential kinetics of Mb-CO binding observed at low temperatures. All these data have previously been interpreted in terms of the more complex conformational substates model for protein dynamics. We point out several problems with this model and propose experiments that can provide detailed tests of the quasi-harmonic theory proposed here.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1027-1044
Number of pages18
JournalBiophysical Journal
Volume48
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1985

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biophysics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Do vibrational spectroscopies uniquely describe protein dynamics? The case for myoglobin'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this