Diffusion-Collision Model for the Folding Kinetics of the λ-Repressor Operator-Binding Domain

The operator-binding domain of the lambda-repressor contains five alpha-helices and an extended N-terminal arm in the crystal structure determined by Pabo and Lewis reported in Nature 298, 443, 1982 (1). The four helices form a "box" enclosing a hydrophobic core with the fifth helix interacting with the equivalent helix in a dimer. With a small number of well-defined secondary structure elements (microdomains), the repressor is well suited for an analysis of its folding pathways and kinetics by use of the diffusion-collision model. In this paper, the basic elements of the model appropriate to a several microdomain protein are formulated and applied to a set of folding pathways consistent with the crystal structure of the operator-binding domain. The overall kinetics, as well as the time-dependence of intermediate states are determined as a function of the microdomain stability parameter.