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235-241, 1994
236
Prediction of protein side chain conformations
Cooling protocols
The final structure obtained using the last heating protocol
described above was used as the initial structure to test cooling
protocols. Each procedure was repeated three times with different
initial seeds for the random number generator which controls the
assignment of the initial velocities. At the end of each run, the
final structure was energy minimized with conventional and
unsealed non-bonded energy terms. The results were analysed
in terms of the final energy of the structures, compared to that
Ant (pi) of the similarly minimized crystal structure and the percentage
of the flexible torsion angles that lay within 30° of their correct
Fig. 3. Sampling of conformational space during a 10 ps molecular values.
dynamics simulation at 3000 K. Fractions of torsions that have sampled one, In the first protocol (cooling runs 1 - 3 ) , initial velocities were
two or all three conformational domains (r, g+, g~), as a function of time.
assigned at 3000 K and the heat bath cooled from 3000 to 0 K
linearly over 50 ps, while the 'soft' non-bonded interactions were
that its value remains finite even when the atomic separation is scaled up linearly from a K^ of 10"7 to 1 kcal/mol/A4. The
zero. The ability of parts of the structure to 'pass through' other electrostatic interactions remained scaled by 10~7. The second
parts without excessive hindrance is vital if all areas of conforma- protocol (cooling runs 4 - 6 ) was the same as the first, except
tional space are to be sampled. However, to obtain a satisfact- that the electrostatic interactions were also scaled up to full
ory spread in the torsion angles, it was also necessary to assign strength over the last 40 ps of the simulation. The third protocol
the initial velocities in the system from a Boltzman distribution (cooling runs 7-9) was also the same as the first, except that
at the required temperature, rather than rely on the coupling to the final value of K^ was reduced to 0.2 kcal/mol/A4. The
the heat bath to raise the temperature of the system from zero, results are shown in Table I and the progress of the annealing
as was the case before (Figure lc). through the cooling is shown in Figure 4, where, for each
Taking this last protocol, the effect of the duration and protocol, the mean error in the torsion angles is plotted as a
temperature of the heating phase was examined. Runs of 10 ps function of time.
were performed at 1000, 2000 and 3000 K. Plotting the mean The first protocol gave final structures with energies 9 5 -
absolute change in the torsions from their initial values as a 175 kcal/mol above the minimized crystal structure and with
function of time (Figure 2), we see that even at 1000 K, most 64-68% of the torsions correctly predicted. Considering just
of the randomization takes place in the first 2 ps, but that a full 'buried' residues, the predictive accuracy was 63-74%.
10 ps at 3000 K probably gives the best chance of a well- Introducing the electrostatic term led to the structures of better
randomized and highly mobile system. To further demonstrate energy, 29-57 kcaiymol above the target value, but the side chain
the mobility of the system at 3000 K, the fraction of side chain conformations were no better predicted. On examining the cooling
torsions that have experienced one, two or all three of the basic profiles (Figure 4), it was clear that most of the torsion angle
conformational domains (t, g+ and g~) is plotted as a function error correction occurred in the first 10 ps of the simulation,
of time (Figure 3). By 2 ps some 60% of the torsions have already during which time the value of K^ rose to 0.2 kcal/mol/A4. In
been observed in all three domains at some stage, but even after the third protocol, K^ reached this value only at the end of the
10 ps there are some 10% of the torsions that have remained simulation, allowing more time for the structure to escape from
in their original domain and another 10% that have been observed unfavourable conformations. This resulted in marginally better
in only one other. performance and this protocol for the treatment of non-bonded
237
C.A.Laughton
Table D. The effect of the rate of cooling on the accuracy of final annealed
structures
238
Prediction of protein side chain conformations
Table in., The effect of the number of flexible torsions on the accuracy of Table VI. Application of the method to BPTI. Side chain atom r.m.s.
final annealed structures deviations and solvent accessibilities for individual residues from each
annealing run
Cooling Torsion Fraction of Accuracy (all residues/
run* set dihedrals (%) (kcal/mol) buried only) Residue Solvent Side chain r.m.s . deviation (A)
c
R.m.s.d." exposure A B C D E Mean'
% torsions
239