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Title: The cofactor-dependent folding mechanism of Drosophila cryptochrome revealed by single-molecule pulling experiments
Abstract

The link between cofactor binding and protein activity is well-established. However, how cofactor interactions modulate folding of large proteins remains unknown. We use optical tweezers, clustering and global fitting to dissect the folding mechanism ofDrosophilacryptochrome (dCRY), a 542-residue protein that binds FAD, one of the most chemically and structurally complex cofactors in nature. We show that the first dCRY parts to fold are independent of FAD, but later steps are FAD-driven as the remaining polypeptide folds around the cofactor. FAD binds to largely unfolded intermediates, yet with association kinetics above the diffusion-limit. Interestingly, not all FAD moieties are required for folding: whereas the isoalloxazine ring linked to ribitol and one phosphate is sufficient to drive complete folding, the adenosine ring with phosphates only leads to partial folding. Lastly, we propose a dCRY folding model where regions that undergo conformational transitions during signal transduction are the last to fold.

 
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NSF-PAR ID:
10398786
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Nature Publishing Group
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Volume:
14
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2041-1723
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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