Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry Systems

Near-UV circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a widely used method that provides, among others, information about the tertiary structure of biomolecular systems such as proteins, RNA, or DNA. Experimental near-UV CD spectra of proteins reflect the CD signals averaged over the many conformations th...

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Main Authors: Jérémy Morere, Tanguy Leyder, Catherine Michaux, Claude Millot, Emmanuelle Bignon, Thibaud Etienne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Chemistry
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8549/7/2/63
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author Jérémy Morere
Tanguy Leyder
Catherine Michaux
Claude Millot
Emmanuelle Bignon
Thibaud Etienne
author_facet Jérémy Morere
Tanguy Leyder
Catherine Michaux
Claude Millot
Emmanuelle Bignon
Thibaud Etienne
author_sort Jérémy Morere
collection DOAJ
description Near-UV circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a widely used method that provides, among others, information about the tertiary structure of biomolecular systems such as proteins, RNA, or DNA. Experimental near-UV CD spectra of proteins reflect the CD signals averaged over the many conformations that these systems can adopt. Theoretical approaches have been developed to predict such spectroscopic properties and link modeled conformations of complex biosystems to easily accessible experimental data, without having the resort to costly structural biology techniques. However, these predictions are mostly generated on the basis of a single experimental structure, missing the dynamic information reflecting the protein conformational variability. Here, we describe a complete reformulation of the theoretical foundations behind the prediction of CD spectra. We propose a QM/MM-based automated pipeline that generates an average near-UV CD spectrum from a given MD ensemble in a fast manner based on these theoretical considerations and further test it on protein systems. This pipeline has been implemented in an open-source program called DichroProt.
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spelling doaj-art-a0170e248c7643edb94e6b1ccba6b9142025-08-20T02:17:14ZengMDPI AGChemistry2624-85492025-04-01726310.3390/chemistry7020063Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry SystemsJérémy Morere0Tanguy Leyder1Catherine Michaux2Claude Millot3Emmanuelle Bignon4Thibaud Etienne5Université de Lorraine, CNRS, LPCT, F-54000 Nancy, FranceLaboratoire de Chimie Physique des Biomolécules (CPB), Chemistry Department, Namur Institute of Structured Matter (NISM), Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (NARILIS), University of Namur (UNamur), 5000 Namur, BelgiumLaboratoire de Chimie Physique des Biomolécules (CPB), Chemistry Department, Namur Institute of Structured Matter (NISM), Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (NARILIS), University of Namur (UNamur), 5000 Namur, BelgiumUniversité de Lorraine, CNRS, LPCT, F-54000 Nancy, FranceUniversité de Lorraine, CNRS, LPCT, F-54000 Nancy, FranceUniversité de Lorraine, CNRS, LPCT, F-54000 Nancy, FranceNear-UV circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a widely used method that provides, among others, information about the tertiary structure of biomolecular systems such as proteins, RNA, or DNA. Experimental near-UV CD spectra of proteins reflect the CD signals averaged over the many conformations that these systems can adopt. Theoretical approaches have been developed to predict such spectroscopic properties and link modeled conformations of complex biosystems to easily accessible experimental data, without having the resort to costly structural biology techniques. However, these predictions are mostly generated on the basis of a single experimental structure, missing the dynamic information reflecting the protein conformational variability. Here, we describe a complete reformulation of the theoretical foundations behind the prediction of CD spectra. We propose a QM/MM-based automated pipeline that generates an average near-UV CD spectrum from a given MD ensemble in a fast manner based on these theoretical considerations and further test it on protein systems. This pipeline has been implemented in an open-source program called DichroProt.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8549/7/2/63electronic circular dichroismmulti-scale excited state calculationsmatrix methodfirst-order perturbation theory
spellingShingle Jérémy Morere
Tanguy Leyder
Catherine Michaux
Claude Millot
Emmanuelle Bignon
Thibaud Etienne
Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry Systems
Chemistry
electronic circular dichroism
multi-scale excited state calculations
matrix method
first-order perturbation theory
title Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry Systems
title_full Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry Systems
title_fullStr Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry Systems
title_full_unstemmed Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry Systems
title_short Dynamical Resolution of QM/MM Near-UV Circular Dichroism Spectra of Low-Symmetry Systems
title_sort dynamical resolution of qm mm near uv circular dichroism spectra of low symmetry systems
topic electronic circular dichroism
multi-scale excited state calculations
matrix method
first-order perturbation theory
url https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8549/7/2/63
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