Proteins – a celebration of consilience

ORAL

Abstract

Proteins are the common constituents of all living cells. They are molecular machines that interact with each other as well as with other cell products and carry out a dizzying array of functions with distinction. These interactions follow from their native state structures and therefore understanding sequence-structure relationships is of fundamental importance. What is quite remarkable about proteins is that their understanding necessarily straddles several disciplines. The importance of geometry in defining protein native state structure, the constraints placed on protein behavior by mathematics and physics, the need for proteins to obey the laws of quantum chemistry, and the rich role of evolution and biology all come together in defining protein science. Here we present an interdisciplinary framework that aims to marry ideas from Plato and Darwin and demonstrates an astonishing consilience between disciplines in describing proteins. We discuss the consequences of this framework on protein behavior.

*This work was supported by The European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 894784. The contents reflect only the authors' view and not the views of the European Commission.

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Publication: [1] T. Škrbić, T. X. Hoang, A. Maritan, A. Giacometti, G. D. Rose and J. R. Banavar, "Building blocks of protein structures: Physics meets biology", Phys. Rev. E 104, 014402 (2021).
[2] T. Škrbić, T. X. Hoang, A. Giacometti, A. Maritan and J. R. Banavar, "Proteins – a celebration of consilience", Intl. J. Mod. Phys. B (2021), accepted for publication

Presenters

  • Tatjana Skrbic

    • Department of Physics and Institute for Fundamental Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
    • University of Oregon

Authors

  • Tatjana Skrbic

    • Department of Physics and Institute for Fundamental Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
    • University of Oregon

  • Trinh X Hoang

    • Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 10 Dao Tan, Ba Dinh Hanoi 11108, Vietnam

  • Achille Giacometti

    • Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia, Campus Scientifico, Edificio Alfa, via Torino 155, 30170 Venezia Mestre, Italy

  • Amos Maritan

    • Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Padova and INFN, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy

  • Jayanth R Banavar

    • Department of Physics and Institute for Fundamental Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA