Figure 7. Surface characteristics of MtDef4.

A. In this diagram, the surface potential (calculated by DelPhi) is mapped onto the molecular surface of MtDef4 as a semi-transparent surface. The structure of MtDef4 is represented by a ribbon diagram that is colored blue to red as the chain extends from the amino-terminus to carboxy terminus. The disulfide bonds and the side chains of the arginine and lysine residues in the structure are also shown. Note that the overall surface is strongly basic.

B. Surface accessibility of the atoms in the MtDef4 structure. The semi-transparent molecular surface is colored blue to red for the least to most accessible atoms. Note that the very hydrophobic F37 on the β2-β3 loop, which is highly conserved among defensin proteins, is significantly exposed. The residues in this β2-β3 loop region are labeled.