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Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
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The Role Of Conformational Dynamics In Isocyanide Hydratase Catalysis, Medhanjali Dasgupta
The Role Of Conformational Dynamics In Isocyanide Hydratase Catalysis, Medhanjali Dasgupta
Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Post-translational modification of cysteine residues can regulate protein function and is essential for catalysis by cysteine-dependent enzymes. Covalent modifications neutralize charge on the reactive cysteine thiolate anion and thus alter the active site electrostatic environment. Although a vast number of enzymes rely on cysteine modification for function, precisely how altered structural and electrostatic states of cysteine affect protein dynamics, which in turn, affects catalysis, remains poorly understood.
Here we use X-ray crystallography, computer simulations, site directed mutagenesis and enzyme kinetics to characterize how covalent modification of the active site cysteine residue in the enzyme, isocyanide hydratase (ICH), affects the protein …