B01 Kiefhaber: Coupled binding and folding reactions of intrinsically disordered proteins

A large number of proteins have recently been found to be unfolded in the absence of a binding partner ("intrinsically disordered proteins"; IDPs). Folding of these proteins is coupled to a specific binding process. We want to experimentally study the dynamics of different classes of coupled binding and folding reactions, in which protein function is either induced by a protein-protein interaction or by a protein-DNA interaction. The goal is to gain a detailed understanding of the kinetic mechanism of these processes and to elucidate the role of the binding partner in the folding kinetics.