Protocols for fast simulations of protein structure flexibility using CABS-flex and SURPASS

Abstract

Conformational flexibility of protein structures can play an important role in protein function. The flexibility is often studied using computational methods, since experimental characterization can be difficult. Depending on protein system size; computational tools may require large computational resources or significant simplifications in the modeled systems to speed-up calculations. In this work, we present the protocols for efficient simulations of flexibility of folded protein structures that use coarse-grained simulation tools of different resolutions: medium, represented by CABS-flex, and low, represented by SUPRASS. We test the protocols using a set of 140 globular proteins and compare the results with structure fluctuations observed in MD simulations, ENM modeling and NMR ensembles. As demonstrated, CABS-flex predictions show high correlation to experimental and MD simulation data, while SURPASS is less accurate but promising in terms of future developments.