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Understanding the Catalytic Mechanism of Monoterpene Synthases using Atomistic Simulations


EMSL Project ID
51181

Abstract

We propose to use the EMSL supercomputing resources to gain a molecular level understanding of the catalytic mechanism of monoterpene synthases (MTSs). This research is a key component of DOE Basic Energy Science Physical Bioscience program at PNNL and it is carried out in collaboration with Prof. Lange at Washington State University (WSU). In this work, we will (1) perform an extensive set of molecular dynamics simulations of various MTSs aimed at understanding how steric and electrostatic confinement affect the conformational space of substrates and intermediates; (2) estimate the structure and energetics at the key enzymatic intermediates; (3) characterize residues that influence enzyme specificities by performing additional in-silico mutagenesis MD simulations ; and (4) iteratively compare simulation results with the corresponding experimental information provided by our experimental collaborator in order to validate a role of the specific key amino acids observed from computational approaches.

Project Details

Start Date
2019-10-01
End Date
2020-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Simone Raugei
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Team Members

Conrad Johnston
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Hoshin Kim
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Bojana Ginovska
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Related Publications

Hoshin Kim, Narayanan Srividya, Iris Lange, Eden W. Huchala, Bojana Ginovska, B. Markus Lange, Simone Raugei. 2022. "Determinants of Selectivity for the Formation of Monocyclic and Bicyclic Products in Monoterpene Synthases." ACS Catalysis 12 (12):7453-7469. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acscatal.2c01836