Chou K C
Biophys Chem. 1986 Dec 15;25(2):105-16. doi: 10.1016/0301-4622(86)87001-6.
The recent progress in the quasi-continuity model and its applications in studying the low-frequency internal motions of biological macromolecules have been surveyed. Emphasis is placed on revealing the origin of this kind of internal collective motion, which involves many atoms and has significant biological functions. In light of such a line, the low-frequency motions in alpha-helix structure, beta-structure (including beta-sheet and beta-barrel), and DNA double-helix structure, the three most fundamental component elements in biological macromolecules, are discussed, and the corresponding physical pictures described. It turns out that the low-frequency motion in biological macromolecules originates from their two common intrinsic characteristics, i.e., they possess a series of weak bonds, such as hydrogen bonds and salt bridges, and a substantial mass distributed over the region containing those weak bonds.
本文综述了准连续模型的最新进展及其在研究生物大分子低频内部运动中的应用。重点在于揭示这种涉及多个原子且具有重要生物学功能的内部集体运动的起源。基于此，讨论了生物大分子中三个最基本组成元素，即α-螺旋结构、β-结构（包括β-折叠和β-桶）以及DNA双螺旋结构中的低频运动，并描述了相应的物理图像。结果表明，生物大分子中的低频运动源于其两个共同的固有特性，即它们拥有一系列弱键，如氢键和盐桥，以及分布在包含这些弱键区域的大量质量。
