GROMACS: fast, flexible, and free

This article describes the software suite GROMACS (Groningen MAchine for Chemical Simulation) that was developed at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, in the early 1990s. The software, written in ANSI C, originates from a parallel hardware project, and is well suited for parallelization on processor clusters. By careful optimization of neighbor searching and of inner loop performance, GROMACS is a very fast program for molecular dynamics simulation. It does not have a force field of its own, but is compatible with GROMOS, OPLS, AMBER, and ENCAD force fields. In addition, it can handle polarizable shell models and flexible constraints. The program is versatile, as force routines can be added by the user, tabulated functions can be specified, and analyses can be easily customized. Nonequilibrium dynamics and free energy determinations are incorporated. Interfaces with popular quantum-chemical packages (MOPAC, GAMES-UK, GAUSSIAN) are provided to perform mixed MM/QM simulations. The package includes about 100 utility and analysis programs. GROMACS is in the public domain and distributed (with source code and documentation) under the GNU General Public License. It is maintained by a group of developers from the Universities of Groningen, Uppsala, and Stockholm, and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz. Its Web site is http://www.gromacs.org.     

Calculation of the free energy of solvation for neutral analogs of amino acid side chains

The ability of the GROMOS96 force field to reproduce partition constants between water and two less polar solvents (cyclohexane and chloroform) for analogs of 18 of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids has been investigated. The estimations of the solvation free energies in water, in cyclohexane solution, and chloroform solution are based on thermodynamic integration free energy calculations using molecular dynamics simulations. The calculations show that while the force field reproduces the experimental solvation free energies of nonpolar analogs with reasonable accuracy the solvation free energies of polar analogs in water are systematically overestimated (too positive). The dependence of the calculated free energies on the atomic partial charges was also studied.     

Comparison of thermodynamic properties of coarse-grained and atomic-level simulation models.

Thermodynamic data are often used to calibrate or test amomic-level (AL) force fields for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In contrast, the majority of coarse-grained (CG) force fields do not rely extensively on thermodynamic quantities. Recently, a CG force field for lipids, hydrocarbons, ions, and water, in which approximately four non-hydrogen atoms are mapped onto one interaction site, has been proposed and applied to study various aspects of lipid systems. To date, no extensive investigation of its capability to describe salvation thermodynamics has been undertaken. In the present study, a detailed picture of vaporization, solvation, and phase-partitioning thermodynamics for liquid hydrocarbons and water was obtained at CG and AL resolutions, in order to compare the two types or models and evaluate their ability to describe thermodynamic properties in the temperature range between 263 and 343 K. Both CG and AL models capture the experimental dependence of the thermodynamic properties on the temperature, albeit a systematically weaker dependence is found for the CG model. Moreover, deviations are found for solvation thermodynamics and for the corresponding enthalpy-entropy compensation for the CG model. Particularly water/oil repulsion seems to be overestimated. However, the results suggest that the thermodynamic properties considered should be reproducible by a CG model provided it is reparametrized on the basis of these liquid-phase properties.     

Systematic benchmarking of large molecular dynamics simulations employing GROMACS on massive multiprocessing facilities

The influence of the total number of cores, the number of cores dedicated to Particle mesh Ewald (PME) calculation and the choice of single vs. double precision on the performance of molecular dynamic (MD) simulations in the size of 70,000 to 1.7 million of atoms was analyzed on three different high‐performance computing facilities employing GROMACS 4 by running about 6000 benchmark simulations. Small and medium sized systems scaled linear up to 64 and 128 cores, respectively. Systems with half a million to 1.2 million atoms scaled linear up to 256 cores. The best performance was achieved by dedicating 25% of the total number of cores to PME calculation. Double precision calculations lowered the performance by 30–50%. A database for collecting information about MD simulations and the achieved performance was created and is freely available online and allows the fast estimation of the performance that can be expected in similar environments. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011     

A molecular dynamics simulation of the chemisorption of the optical isomers of propranolol on the graphitic electrode modified with melamine,cyanuric, and isocyanuric acids

To demonstrate the nature of the interaction of optical isomers of propranolol with the surface of the graphitic electrode modified with melamine, uracil, cyanuric, and isocyanuric acids, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of the four‐component systems with variable modifier's molecules. We have considered the possible formation of complexes between the propranolol and modifier's molecules, covering the electrode approximated as the graphene surface. Our simulations demonstrate that the l ‐isomer in aqueous solutions is bonded to the electrode surface stronger than its d ‐counterpart; hence, the difference in analytical signals arises. Different strengths of bonding of the propranolol enantiomers to the surface modifiers are caused by the different intramolecular interactions taking place in the molecules of d ‐ and l ‐isomers. Thus, we have computationally shown that the modification of the graphite surface with melamine, uracil, cyanuric, and isocyanuric acids allows for increasing the sensitivity of the electrode toward the propranolol enantiomers and using the modified graphitic electrodes for the detection of its d ‐ and l ‐forms.     

Dynamic models of G-protein coupled receptor dimers: indications of asymmetry in the rhodopsin dimer from molecular dynamics simulations in a POPC bilayer

Based on the growing evidence that G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) form homo- and hetero-oligomers, models of GPCR signaling are now considering macromolecular assemblies rather than monomers, with the homo-dimer regarded as the minimal oligomeric arrangement required for functional coupling to the G-protein. The dynamic mechanisms of such signaling assemblies are unknown. To gain some insight into properties of GPCR dimers that may be relevant to functional mechanisms, we study their current structural prototype, rhodopsin. We have carried out nanosecond time-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a rhodopsin dimer and compared the results to the monomer simulated in the same type of bilayer membrane model composed of an equilibrated unit cell of hydrated palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidyl choline (POPC). The dynamic representation of the homo-dimer reveals the location of structural changes in several regions of the monomeric subunits. These changes appear to be more pronounced at the dimerization interface that had been shown to be involved in the activation process [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:17495, 2005]. The results are consistent with a model of GPCR activation that involves allosteric modulation through a single GPCR subunit per dimer.     

Modeling of enzyme–substrate complexes for the metalloproteases MMP-3, ADAM-9 and ADAM-10

The matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) and the ADAMs (A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease domain) are proteolytic enzyme families containing a catalytic zinc ion, that are implicated in a variety of normal and pathological processes involving tissue remodeling and cancer. Synthetic MMP inhibitors have been designed for applications in pathological situations. However, a greater understanding of substrate binding and the catalytic mechanism is required so that more effective and selective inhibitors may be developed for both experimental and clinical purposes. By modeling a natural substrate spanning P4-P4' in complex with the catalytic domains, we aim to compare substrate-specificities between Stromelysin-1 (MMP-3), ADAM-9 and ADAM-10, with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the substrate retains a favourable antiparallel beta-sheet conformation on the P-side in addition to the well-known orientation of the P'-region of the scissile bond, and that the primary substrate selectivity is dominated by the sidechains in the S1' pocket and the S2/S3 region. ADAM-9 has a hydrophobic residue as the central determinant in the S1' pocket, while ADAM-10 has an amphiphilic residue, which suggests a different primary specificity. The S2/S3 pocket is largely hydrophobic in all three enzymes. Inspired by our molecular dynamics calculations and supported by a large body of literature, we propose a novel, hypothetical, catalytic mechanism where the Zn-ion polarizes the oxygens from the catalytic glutamate to form a nucleophile, leading to a tetrahedral oxyanion anhydride transition state.     

Multiple ligand-binding modes in bacterial R67 dihydrofolate reductase

Summary R67 dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), a bacterial plasmid-encoded enzyme associated with resistance to the drug trimethoprim, shows neither sequence nor structural homology with the chromosomal DHFR. It presents a highly symmetrical toroidal structure, where four identical monomers contribute to the unique central active-site pore. Two reactants (dihydrofolate, DHF), two cofactors (NADPH) or one of each (R67•DHF•NADPH) can be found simultaneously within the active site, the last one being the reactive ternary complex. As the positioning of the ligands has proven elusive to empirical determination, we addressed the problem from a theoretical perspective. Several potential structures of the ternary complex were generated using the docking programs AutoDock and FlexX. The variability among the final poses, many of which conformed to experimental data, prompted us to perform a comparative scoring analysis and molecular dynamics simulations to assess the stability of the complexes. Analysis of ligand–ligand and ligand–protein interactions along the 4 ns trajectories of eight different structures allowed us to identify important inter-ligand contacts and key protein residues. Our results, combined with published empirical data, clearly suggest that multipe binding modes of the ligands are possible within R67 DHFR. While the pterin ring of DHF and the nicotinamide ring of NADPH assume a stacked endo-conformation at the centre of the pore, probably assisted by V66, Q67 and I68, the tails of the molecules extend towards opposite ends of the cavity, adopting multiple configurations in a solvent rich-environment where hydrogen-bond interactions with K32 and Y69 may play important roles.     

Conformational analysis of hydroxymatairesinol in aqueous solution with molecular dynamics

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on the naturally occuring lignan hydroxymatairesinol (HMR) using the GROMACS software. The aim of this study was to explore the conformational behavior of HMR in aqueous solution adopting the TIP4P model. The topology of HMR was constructed by hand and HMR was modeled with the OPLS‐AA force field implemented in GROMACS. The five torsional angles in HMR were properly analyzed during the simulations. Correlations through certain patterns were observed between the angles. The determining property for the conformation preferred in aqueous solution was found to be the dipole moment and not the lowest energy in gas phase. The solvation effects on HMR was also studied by quantum chemical calculations applying the COnductorlike Screening MOdel (COSMO), the results of which were compared with results from a previous study using the Polarized Continuum Model (PCM). In the present work, COSMO was found to give more credible relative energies than PCM. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Comput Chem, 2009     

Combination of the CHARMM27 force field with united-atom lipid force fields

Computer simulations offer a valuable way to study membrane systems, from simple lipid bilayers to large transmembrane protein complexes and lipid-nucleic acid complexes for drug delivery. Their accuracy depends on the quality of the force field parameters used to describe the components of a particular system. We have implemented the widely used CHARMM22 and CHARMM27 force fields in the GROMACS simulation package to (i) combine the CHARMM22 protein force field with two sets of united-atom lipids parameters; (ii) allow comparisons of the lipid CHARMM27 force field with other lipid force fields or lipid-protein force field combinations. Our tests do not show any particular issue with the combination of the all-atom CHARMM22 force field with united-atoms lipid parameters, although pertinent experimental data are lacking to assess the quality of the lipid-protein interactions. The conversion utilities allow automatic generation of GROMACS simulation files with CHARMM nucleic acids and protein parameters and topologies, starting from pdb files using the standard GROMACS pdb2gmx method. CMAP is currently not implemented.