A stochastic model of protein conformational dynamics and electronic–conformational coupling in biological energy transduction

Abstract

The principles of biological energy transduction are discussed by means of a mathematical model of a donor–acceptor system of electron transfer enzymes in which electronic and conformational states are coupled. The internal nuclear motion of the enzymes is considered to be composed of transitions between local potential energy wells, which define conformational states, and vibrations within these. The conformational transitions are treated as a stochastic process of the diffusion type on a conformational potential energy surface. Dissipative processes are avoided by restricting electron transfer with respect to conformational states and molecular mechanisms of such electron gating are discussed. Different types of transient kinetics, determined by the relative rates of electronic and conformational transitions, are demonstrated in terms of probability density functions, which describe the probability for the system to be in different electronic and conformational states as a function of time. The experimental basis for the concepts and mechanisms introduced is discussed and further experiments are proposed. The applicability of the mathematical model to other systems is indicated.