Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.103, No.34, 7346-7352, 1999
Molecular orbital study of the interaction between MgATP and the myosin motor domain: The highest occupied molecular orbitals indicate the reaction site of ATP hydrolysis
We constructed a model structure of Mg-adenosine triphosphate (MgATP) and the surrounding portion of myosin by using the X-ray crystal structure of the myosin motor domain bound to the stable MgATP analogue, MgADP-BeFx, and by adding hydrogen atoms and replacing beryllium with phosphorus and fluorine with oxygen. The positions of the hydrogen atoms were determined by optimization using the semiempirical molecular orbital program MOPAC 97. Analysis of the electronic states of the model structure revealed that the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMO) indicate that the reaction site of the ATP hydrolysis is the nonbridging gamma-phosphoryl oxygen atoms and confirmed that H2O(1181) is the hydrolytic water. Thus, hypothetical mechanisms of the initial phase of the hydrolysis are proposed.