All-Atom Structure Prediction and Folding Simulations of a Stable Protein

We present results from all-atom, fully unrestrained ab initio folding simulations for a stable protein with nontrivial secondary structure elements and a hydrophobic core. The construct, "trpcage", is a 20-residue sequence optimized by the Andersen group at University of Washington and is currently the smallest protein that displays two-state folding properties. Compared over the well-defined regions of the experimental structure, our prediction has a remarkably low 0.97 A Calpha root-mean-square-deviation (rmsd) and 1.4 A for all heavy atoms. The simulated structure family displays additional features that are suggested by experimental data, yet are not evident in the family of NMR-derived structures.