“Using flow-visualization for studying sub-molecular motions” by Ray, Mohan and Bartlett

Visualization of molecular structures is important for understanding basic molecular conformations and because structure is intimately tied to function. Molecular function however is also associated with molecular flexibility. The Adenylate Kinase lid hinges to trap its target in the active site. The Cyclic-AMP Response Protein hinges like a clothespin to clamp different DNA sequences. The Adeno- Associated Virus (AAV) capsid protein appears to unfold to expose a catalytic domain that allows the virus to escape, when presented with the low pH of the normally entrapping endosome.  

1. Bartlett, J. S., Wilcher, R., and Samulski, R. J. 2000. Infectious entry pathway of adeno-associated virus and adeno-associated virus vectors. Journal of Virology 74, 6, 2777–2785.
2. Krebs, W. G., and Gerstein, M. 2000. The morph server: a standardized system for analyzing and visualizing macromolecular motions in a database framework. Nucleic Acids Research 28, 8, 1665–1675.