Molecular Models of Protein Interaction in Photosynthetic Electron Transport - Abstract
The processes of electron transfer in photosynthetic chain at the molecular and subcellular level are simulated. Movements and interactions of individual electron carrier proteins are described by Brownian dynamics, conformational changes accompanying the process of forming a proteinprotein complex are simulated using molecular dynamics methods. Multiparticle Brownian models explicitly reproduce Brownian diffusion of mobile protein carriers and their electrostatic interactions with multi-enzyme complexes both in solution and in the interior of a photosynthetic energy-transforming photosynthetic biomembrane. The analysis of these models reveals the role of diffusion and electrostatic factors in the regulation of electron transport, the influence of geometry of the reaction volume, ionic strength, and pH of the cell medium on the rate of electron transport reactions between electron carrier proteins. The article is based on the results of research carried out at the Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University.