The mechanism used by the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, Ubc13, to catalyze ubiquitination is probed with three computational techniques: Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, single point quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics energies, and classical molecular dynamics. These simulations support a long-held hypothesis and show that Ubc13-catalyzed ubiquitination uses a stepwise, nucleophilic attack mechanism. Furthermore, they show that the first step-the formation of a tetrahedral, zwitterionic intermediate-is rate limiting. However, these simulations contradict another popular hypothesis that supposes that the negative charge on the intermediate is stabilized by a highly conserved asparagine (Asn79 in Ubc13). Instead, calculated reaction profiles of the N79A mutant illustrate how charge stabilization actually increases the barrier to product formation. Finally, an alternate role for Asn79 is suggested by simulations of wild-type, N79A, N79D, and H77A Ubc13: it stabilizes the motion of the electrophile prior to the reaction, positioning it for nucleophilic attack.

We present classical molecular dynamics (MD), Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD), and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) data. MD was performed using the GPU accelerated pmemd module of the AMBER14MD package. BOMD was performed using CP2K version 2.6. The reaction rates in BOMD were accelerated using the Metadynamics method. QM/MM was performed using ONIOM in the Gaussian09 suite of programs. Relevant input files for BOMD and QM/MM are available.

We present classical molecular dynamics (MD), Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD), and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) data. MD was performed using the GPU accelerated pmemd module of the AMBER14MD package. BOMD was performed using CP2K version 2.6. The reaction rates in BOMD were accelerated using the Metadynamics method. QM/MM was performed using ONIOM in the Gaussian09 suite of programs. Relevant input files for BOMD and QM/MM are available.

No abstract

No abstract