Thursday, 17 December, 2015

Mapping Mechanical Force Propagation through Biomolecular Complexes

C. Schoeler, R. Bernardi, K. Malinowska, E. Durner, W. Ott, E. Bayer, K. Schulten, M. Nash, H. Gaub -
Nano Lett., 15 (11), pp 7370–7376 (2015)

Here we employ single-molecule force spectroscopy with an atomic force microscope (AFM) and steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations to reveal force propagation pathways through a mechanically ultrastable multidomain cellulosome protein complex. We demonstrate a new combination of network-based correlation analysis supported by AFM directional pulling experiments, which allowed us to visualize stiff paths through the protein complex along which force is transmitted. The results implicate specific force-propagation routes nonparallel to the pulling axis that are advantageous for achieving high dissociation forces.

Article on journal´s webpage