Dancing Protein Clouds: The Strange Biology and Chaotic Physics of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Keywords
intrinsically disordered protein, multifunctional protein, post-translational modification (PTM), protein folding, protein-protein interaction, complexity, dynamical system, structural heterogeneity, intrinsically disordered proteins, posttranslational modification
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.R115.685859
Abstract
Biologically active but floppy proteins represent a new reality of modern protein science. These intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and hybrid proteins containing ordered and intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDPRs) constitute a noticeable part of any given proteome. Functionally, they complement ordered proteins, and their conformational flexibility and structural plasticity allow them to perform impossible tricks and be engaged in biological activities that are inaccessible to well folded proteins with their unique structures. The major goals of this minireview are to show that, despite their simplified amino acid sequences, IDPs/IDPRs are complex entities often resembling chaotic systems, are structurally and functionally heterogeneous, and can be considered an important part of the structure-function continuum. Furthermore, IDPs/IDPRs are everywhere, and are ubiquitously engaged in various interactions characterized by a wide spectrum of binding scenarios and an even wider spectrum of structural and functional outputs.
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
Journal of Biological Chemistry, v. 291, issue 13, p. 6681-6688
Scholar Commons Citation
Uversky, Vladimir N., "Dancing Protein Clouds: The Strange Biology and Chaotic Physics of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins" (2016). Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications. 344.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/mme_facpub/344
