Figure 6. Proposed folding pathway of DehI.

Schematic representation of a dimeric DehI (N₂) is shown using the same coloring scheme as in Fig. 1, and its radius of gyration (R_g = 28 Å) and relative secondary structure content according to far-UV CD are indicated below. DehI first unfolds in to a monomeric intermediate state (I) that retain 42% of the secondary structure and further unfolds into another intermediate state (I’) with only 21% of the native secondary structure content but the overall compaction is similar to that of I, according to SAXS-derived Kratky plot. The final unfolding, and potentially unknotting, is achieved, resulting a total loss of secondary structure and expansion of the overall dimension to an R_g value of 55 Å.