An information theory-based machine learning approach to detecting functionally conserved and coordinated protein dynamics

The application of machine learning classification to the molecular dynamics of the functional states of protein allows for application of an information theoretic framework familiar to traditional bioinformatics. The functional states of proteins involving binding interactions with partners comprised of protein, DNA or small molecules can first be defined in a binary fashion (i.e. bound vs unbound), subsequently simulated in molecular dynamics software, and then employed as a comparative training set for a binary machine learning classifier capable of discerning the complex dynamical consequences of binding interaction. This learner can subsequently be deployed on new simulations of the functionally bound state to validate its ability to recognize the molecular motions that are supporting binding function. Regions of proteins with functionally conserved dynamics will induce significant local correlations in learning performance across independent validation runs. Through case studies of Rbp subunit 4/7 interaction in RNA Pol II and DNA-protein interactions of TATA binding protein, we demonstrate this method of detecting functionally conserved protein dynamics. We also demonstrate how Shannon information, relative entropy and mutual information can be applied to these binary classification states of dynamic simulations in order to compare dynamics and identify concerted motions involved in dynamic interactions across sites.