Nonlinear Impact of Electrolyte Solutions on Protein Dynamics.

Halophilic organisms have adapted to multi-molar salt concentrations, their cytoplasmic proteins functioning despite stronger attraction between hydrophobic groups. These proteins, of interest in biotechnology because of decreasing fresh-water resources, have excess acidic amino acids. It has been suggested that conformational fluctuations - critical for protein function - decrease in the presence of a stronger hydrophobic effect, and that an acidic proteome would counteract this decrease.