The effects of amino acid residues on the α-helical conformation

Boris Haimov, Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion, Haifa, Israel
Simcha Srebnik, Chemical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel


α-Helices are the most abundant structures found within proteins and play an important role in the determination of the global structure of proteins and their function. The residues from which α-helices consist determine their conformation. We observe the tendencies of α-helical conformations found in PDB and analyze them on the (ρ,ϑ) space. The observed tendencies of helical conformations found in PDB are captured by four conceptual simulations that theoretically examine the effects of residue bulkiness, external electrical field, and externally applied mechanical forces.