In 1961, Jacob and Monod proposed the operon model for gene regulation based on metabolism of lactose in Escherichia coli. This proposal was followed by an explication of allosteric behavior by Monod and colleagues. The operon model rationally depicted how genetic mechanisms can control metabolic events in response to environmental stimuli via coordinated transcription of a set of genes with related function (e.g. metabolism of lactose). The allosteric response found in the lactose repressor and many other proteins has been extended to a variety of cellular signaling pathways in all organisms. These two models have shaped our view of modern molecular biology and captivated the attention of a surprisingly broad range of scientists. More recently, the lactose repressor monomer was used as a model system for experimental and theoretical explorations of protein folding mechanisms. Thus, the lac system continues to advance our molecular understanding of genetic control and the relationship between sequence, structure and function.

This Article is concerned with the interfacial thermal resistance for polymer composites reinforced by various covalently functionalized graphene. By using molecular dynamics simulations, the obtained results show that the covalent functionalization in graphene plays a significant role in reducing the graphene−paraffin interfacial thermal resistance. This reduction is dependent on the coverage and type of functional groups. Among the various functional groups, butyl is found to be the most effective one in reducing the interfacial thermal resistance, followed by methyl, phenyl, and formyl. The other functional groups under consideration such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amines are found to produce negligible reduction in the interfacial thermal resistance. For multilayer graphene with a layer number up to four, the interfacial thermal resistance is insensitive to the layer number. The effects of the different functional groups and the layer number on the interfacial thermal resistance are also elaborated using the vibrational density of states of the graphene and the paraffin matrix. The present findings provide useful guidelines in the application of functionalized graphene for practical thermal management.

A significant number of eukaryotic regulatory proteins are predicted to have disordered regions. Many of these proteins bind DNA, which may serve as a template for protein folding. Similar behavior is seen in the prokaryotic LacI/GalR family of proteins that couple hinge-helix folding with DNA binding. These hinge regions form short α-helices when bound to DNA, but appear to be disordered in other states. An intriguing question is whether and to what degree intrinsic helix propensity contributes to the function of these proteins. In addition to its interaction with operator DNA, the LacI hinge helix interacts with the hinge helix of the homodimer partner as well as to the surface of the inducer-binding domain. To explore the hierarchy of these interactions, we made a series of substitutions in the LacI hinge helix at position 52, the only site in the helix that does not interact with DNA and/or the inducer-binding domain. The substitutions at V52 have significant effects on operator binding affinity and specificity, and several substitutions also impair functional communication with the inducer-binding domain. Results suggest that helical propensity of amino acids in the hinge region alone does not dominate function; helix-helix packing interactions appear to also contribute. Further, the data demonstrate that variation in operator sequence can overcome side chain effects on hinge helix folding and/or hinge•hinge interactions. Thus, this system provides a direct example whereby an extrinsic interaction (DNA binding) guides internal events that influence folding and functionality. KeywordsLacI; helical propensity; allostery; DNA binding Protein folding has long been a fundamental issue in biological sciences. Beyond the general question of how a polypeptide sequence adopts a three-dimensional structure, coupled folding and binding have been identified as a key feature of partially unstructured proteins in multiple regulatory processes (e.g., transcription regulation, signal transduction, membrane transport and signaling (6-9)). Indeed, more and more intrinsically disordered proteins are found to fold upon binding to their target partners, ligands, or even small ions (10-13). In the case of transcription regulation, mutual cooperative folding of both protein and DNA has been † This work was supported by NIH Grant GM22441 and Robert A. Welch Grant C-576 to Kathleen Shive Matthews. Liskin Swint-Kruse is supported by NIH Grant P20 RR17708 from the Institutional Development Award program of the National Center for Research Resources.*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Telephone: 713−348−4871; Fax: 713−348−6149; Email: E-mail: ksm@bioc.rice.edu.. observed (6,11,14,15). In this paper, coupled folding is explored in greater detail for the hinge helix of the lactose repressor protein (LacI) 1 . NIH Public AccessLacI is a premier model for the regulation of gene expression and allosteric transition in biological systems (2) 2 . This 150-kDa homotetramer is a dimer of functionally independent dimers, with ...