Mapping protein electron transfer pathways with QM/MM methods

Mixed quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods offer a valuable computational tool for understanding the electron transfer pathway in protein–substrate interactions and protein–protein complexes. These hybrid methods are capable of solving the Schrödinger equation on a small subset of the protein, the quantum region, describing its electronic structure under the polarization effects of the remainder of the protein. By selectively turning on and off different residues in the quantum region, we are able to obtain the electron pathway for short- and large-range interactions. Here, we summarize recent studies involving the protein–substrate interaction in cytochrome P450 camphor, ascorbate peroxidase and cytochrome c peroxidase, and propose a novel approach for the long-range protein–protein electron transfer. The results on ascorbate peroxidase and cytochrome c peroxidase reveal the importance of the propionate groups in the electron transfer pathway. The long-range protein–protein electron transfer has been studied on the cytochrome c peroxidase–cytochrome c complex. The results indicate the importance of Phe82 and Cys81 on cytochrome c, and of Asn196, Ala194, Ala176 and His175 on cytochrome c peroxidase.

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