Work

When does a funnel become a trap? A Gömböc-inspired model of protein folding landscapes

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Rosetta and AlphaFold3 reveals native-like coverages of 77% and 90%, respectively, showing qualitative correspondence with the Gömböc model's success rates at low ruggedness. These findings suggest that the Gömböc-inspired model captures essential features of folding landscape quality and may serve as a useful heuristic for comparing foldability across different systems, bridging mathematical topology with protein biophysics.

Source: RSC Advances

DOI: 10.1039/d6ra07903b

Authors: Sergey Shityakov, Ekaterina V. Skorb, Michael Nosonovsky

Institutions: ITMO University, Sechenov University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

Language: English

Topic: Protein Structure and Dynamics

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,042

Funders: Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Fondation Schlumberger pour l’Education et la Recherche