Characterization of the internal motions of Escherichia coli ribonuclease HI by a combination of 15N-NMR relaxation analysis and molecular dynamics simulation: examination of dynamic models.

The backbone dynamics of Escherichia coli ribonuclease HI (RNase HI) in the picosecond to nanosecond time scale were characterized by a combination of measurements of 15N-NMR relaxation (T1, T2, and NOE), analyzed by a model-free approach, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in water. The MD simulations in water were carried out with long-range Coulomb interactions to avoid the artificial fluctuation caused by the cutoff approximation. The model-free analysis of the 15N-NMR relaxation indicated that RNase HI has a rotational correlation time of 10.9 ns at 27 degrees C. The generalized order parameter (S2) for the internal motions varied from 0.15 to 1.0, with an average value of 0.85, which is much larger than that of the RNase H domain of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (0.78). Large internal motions (small order parameters) were observed in the N-terminal region (Leu2-Lys3), the loop between beta-strands A and B (Cys13-Gly15), the turn between alpha-helix I and beta-strand D (Glu61, His62), the loop between beta-strand D and alpha-helix II (Asp70-Tyr71), the loop between alpha-helices III and IV (Ala93-Lys96), the loop between beta-strand E and alpha-helix V (Gly123-His127), and the C-terminal region (Gln152-Val155). The effective correlation time observed in these regions varied from 0.45 ns (Glu61, Lys96) to 2.2 ns (Leu14). The order parameters calculated from the MD agreed well with those from the NMR experiment, with a few exceptions. The distributions of most of the backbone N-H vectors obtained by MD are approximately consistent with the diffusion-in-a-cone model. These distributions, however, were elliptic, with a long axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the N-H and N-C alpha vectors. Distributions supporting the axial fluctuation model or the jump-between-two-cones model were also observed in the MD simulation.