Structural drift: A possible path to protein fold change

Abstract

Summary: Along with their mutating sequences, protein structures change in time. Analyzing a formate dehydrogenase domain that is evolutionarily related to ferredoxin, but simultaneously contains all the structural elements of a β-Grasp fold, we illustrate here a mechanism termed as structural drift, by which changes to a protein fold can occur. © The Author 2004. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.