What is it about?
Both experiments and computations show that a protein structure can organize surrounding water solvent molecules into chiral supermolecular assemblies. The chirality of the water superstructures are determined by the absolute handedness of the protein.
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Why is it important?
Biomacromolecules are homochiral in nature, i.e., (L-) protein, (D-) DNA, and (D-) RNA. Water solvent modulates every aspect of protein structures and dynamics. The fact that protein solvation can be chiral will guide further exploration about the role of water in chiral selectivity of biomacromolecular interactions and the molecular origins of homochirality in the biology world.
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This page is a summary of: Mirror-image antiparallel β-sheets organize water molecules into superstructures of opposite chirality, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, December 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015567117.
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