Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Keywords
Intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), intrinsically disordered region, spatio - temporal heterogeneity, Structural flexibility, Binding promiscuity, emergent behavior, edge of chaos
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2019.00010
Abstract
Recognition of the natural abundance and functional importance of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), and protein hybrids that contain both intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDPRs) and ordered regions, is changing protein science. IDPs and IDPRs, i.e., functional proteins and protein regions without unique structures, can often be found in all organisms, and typically play vital roles in various biological processes. Disorder-based functionality complements the functions of ordered proteins and domains. However, by virtue of their existence, IDPs/IDPRs, which are characterized by remarkable conformational flexibility and structural plasticity, break multiple rules established over the years to explain structure, folding, and functionality of well-folded proteins with unique structures. Despite the general belief that unique biological functions of proteins require unique 3D-structures (which dominated protein science for more than a century), structure-less IDPs/IDPRs are functional, being able to engage in biological activities and perform impossible tricks that are highly unlikely for ordered proteins. With their exceptional spatio-temporal heterogeneity and high conformational flexibility, IDPs/IDPRs represent complex systems that act at the edge of chaos and are specifically tunable by various means. In this article, some of the wonders of intrinsic disorder are discussed as illustrations of their “mysterious” (meta)physics.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Frontiers in Physics, v. 7, art. fphy.2019.00010
Scholar Commons Citation
Uversky, Vladimir N., "Intrinsically Disordered Proteins and Their “Mysterious” (Meta)Physics" (2019). Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications. 217.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/mme_facpub/217
