Dynamic Similarity of the Unfolded States of Proteins L and G

The formation of specific intramolecular contacts has been studied under a range of denaturing conditions in single domains of the immunoglobulin-binding proteins L and G. Although they share no significant sequence similarity and have dissimilar folding pathways, the two domains have a similar native fold. Our measurements show that the rates of forming corresponding contacts in the unfolded states of both proteins are remarkably similar and even exhibit similar dependence on denaturant concentration. The unfolded proteins were modeled using Szabo, Schulten, and Schulten (SSS) theory as wormlike chains with excluded volume; when combined with our experimental data, the SSS analysis suggests that the unfolded state becomes uniformly more compact and less diffusive (i.e., rearranges more slowly) with decreasing denaturant concentrations.