Background
It has become increasingly clear in recent years that our understanding of the factors influencing protein folding and stability, as well as the role of disordered proteins and protein segments, may previously have been too simplistic or vague. Although methods such as alanine scanning and phi-value analysis have provided some interesting insights, the inherent issues of interpreting results after simultaneously changing multiple properties during mutation, or the flawed assumptions made with phi-value analysis, may have prevented researchers from seeing and understanding key truths in folding and disorder. At the same time, researchers have been developing new methods to observe these phenomena or revamped older techniques to use them in new ways.
Goal
The purpose of this Research Topic is to gather papers that pursue new areas or angles of biophysical investigation of the fields of protein folding and disorder which will aid in advancing our understanding of the functional properties of disordered proteins or provide insight into factors that influence protein stability. These topics in basic research have wide-reaching applications to protein design, allosteric processes (which have implications in drug design), pathways whose regulation or operation relies on disordered regions (that were previously thought to be nonfunctional) and misfolding diseases, among other important uses. Biophysical methods have played an increasingly important role in revealing how critical these areas of investigation are; this Research Topic is therefore intended to shine light on the enduring insights these methods are helping to provide.
Scope and information for Authors
Define the scope of the Research Topic, listing specific themes you would like contributors to address. Indicate the types of manuscripts you are interested in.
Themes of this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Structure-function relationships of intrinsically disordered proteins or regions
• New biophysical methods or approaches to studying folding or disorder
• New discoveries or insights in the fields of protein folding or disorder using biophysical techniques
• Revisiting assumptions or conclusions previously made about folding or disorder that used lower resolution techniques or flawed models
• Updated perspectives on protein folding or disorder, based on new biophysical methods or reconsideration of information that can be obtained from older biophysical methods or data.
Background
It has become increasingly clear in recent years that our understanding of the factors influencing protein folding and stability, as well as the role of disordered proteins and protein segments, may previously have been too simplistic or vague. Although methods such as alanine scanning and phi-value analysis have provided some interesting insights, the inherent issues of interpreting results after simultaneously changing multiple properties during mutation, or the flawed assumptions made with phi-value analysis, may have prevented researchers from seeing and understanding key truths in folding and disorder. At the same time, researchers have been developing new methods to observe these phenomena or revamped older techniques to use them in new ways.
Goal
The purpose of this Research Topic is to gather papers that pursue new areas or angles of biophysical investigation of the fields of protein folding and disorder which will aid in advancing our understanding of the functional properties of disordered proteins or provide insight into factors that influence protein stability. These topics in basic research have wide-reaching applications to protein design, allosteric processes (which have implications in drug design), pathways whose regulation or operation relies on disordered regions (that were previously thought to be nonfunctional) and misfolding diseases, among other important uses. Biophysical methods have played an increasingly important role in revealing how critical these areas of investigation are; this Research Topic is therefore intended to shine light on the enduring insights these methods are helping to provide.
Scope and information for Authors
Define the scope of the Research Topic, listing specific themes you would like contributors to address. Indicate the types of manuscripts you are interested in.
Themes of this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Structure-function relationships of intrinsically disordered proteins or regions
• New biophysical methods or approaches to studying folding or disorder
• New discoveries or insights in the fields of protein folding or disorder using biophysical techniques
• Revisiting assumptions or conclusions previously made about folding or disorder that used lower resolution techniques or flawed models
• Updated perspectives on protein folding or disorder, based on new biophysical methods or reconsideration of information that can be obtained from older biophysical methods or data.
