Understanding Cold Denaturation: The Case Study of Yfh1

All globular proteins undergo transitions from their native to unfolded states if exposed either to cold or to heat perturbation. While the heat-induced transition is well described for a large number of proteins, in media compatible with natural environments, the limited number of examples of cold denatured states concern proteins artificially destabilized, for instance, by the presence of denaturants, ad hoc point mutations, or both. Here, we provide a characterization of the low temperature unfolded state of Yfh1, a natural protein that undergoes cold denaturation around water freezing temperature, in the absence of any denaturant. By achieving nearly full assignment of the NMR spectrum, we show that at -1 °C, Yfh1 has all the features of an unfolded protein, although retaining some local, residual secondary structure. The effect is not uniform along the sequence and does not merely reflect the secondary structural features of the folded species. The N-terminus seems to be dynamically more flexible, although retaining some nascent helix character. Interestingly, this region is the one containing functionally important hot-spots. The β-sheet region and the C-terminal helix are completely unfolded, although experiencing some conformational exchange, partly due to the presence of several prolines. Ours is the first step toward a full characterization of the low temperature unfolded state of a natural protein, reached without the aid of any destabilizing agent. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding cold denatured states.