title: Cooperativity in macromolecular assembly.
abstract: The thermodynamic principle of cooperativity is used to drive the formation of specific macromolecular complexes during the assembly of a macromolecular machine. Understanding cooperativity provides insight into the mechanisms that govern assembly and disassembly of multicomponent complexes. Our understanding of assembly mechanisms is lagging considerably behind our understanding of the structure and function of these complexes. A significant challenge remains in tackling the thermodynamics and kinetics of the intermolecular interactions required for all cellular functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA. jrwill@scripps.edu
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Williamson
mesh_terms: D007700:Kinetics; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000737:chemistry*; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000737:chemistry; D054679:Ribosome Subunits, Small / Q000737:chemistry; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D051880:Receptors, Notch