Multiparticle Models of Brownian Dynamics for the Description of Photosynthetic Electron Transfer Involving Protein Mobile Carriers

Abstract

The article presents a review of modeling the interaction of photosynthetic proteins using the multiparticle Brownian dynamics method developed at the Department of Biophysics, Biological Faculty, Lomonosov Moscow State University. The authors used multiparticle Brownian methods coupled to molecular dynamic simulations to reveal the role of electrostatic interactions and conformational changes in the transfer of an electron from the cytochrome complex to the molecule of the mobile carrier plastocyanin in plants, green algae, and cianobacteria. Taking into account the interior of photosynthetic membrane, they developed the model, combining events of protein diffusion along the thylakoid membrane, electrostatic interactions between proteins and the proteins with the membrane charges, formation of a multiprotein complex, electron transfer within a complex, and complex dissociation. They have also developed multiparticle models of competitive interactions between electron acceptors ferredoxin.