Figure 1 - full size

Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Backbone substitution requirements for SH3 and WW domain recognition. (A) Structural mapping of alanine and sarcosine scanning results (Table 1). Peptide/domain complex interfaces (8, 9) shown schematically. Ligands adopt a PPII conformation, depicted schematically as a triangular prism. Residue positions (spheres) are color-coded by class: white--does not require either C^ - or N-substitution (alanine and sarcosine tolerant); green--requires C^ -substitution (alanine tolerant, sarcosine intolerant); orange--requires N-substitution (sarcosine tolerant, alanine intolerant). (B) Minimally sufficient recognition unit for SH3 and WW domain binding grooves. Schematic view of a single binding groove cross-section, looking down the PPII helical axis (viewed from left side of Fig. 1A). Minimally required atoms defined in this study, a sequential pair of C^ - and N-substituted residues, are solid black. The van der Waals binding surface that these atoms present is shaded. (C) Distinct mechanisms of proline recognition. Proline can be recognized by a lock and key mechanism, utilizing the full chemical potential of the side chain. In contrast, SH3 and WW domains recognized key prolines based on N-substitution. This mechanism utilizes relatively little of the binding potential of ligand or protein (hatched surface) but is still highly discriminatory for proline among natural amino acids.