Coupling of the hydration water dynamics and the internal dynamics of actin detected by quasielastic neutron scattering.

In order to characterize dynamics of water molecules around F-actin and G-actin, quasielastic neutron scattering experiments were performed on powder samples of F-actin and G-actin, hydrated either with D(2)O or H(2)O, at hydration ratios of 0.4 and 1.0. By combined analysis of the quasielastic neutron scattering spectra, the parameter values characterizing the dynamics of the water molecules in the first hydration layer and those of the water molecules outside of the first layer were obtained. The translational diffusion coefficients (D(T)) of the hydration water in the first layer were found to be 1.2×10(-5) cm(2)/s and 1.7×10(-5) cm(2)/s for F-actin and G-actin, respectively, while that for bulk water was 2.8×10(-5) cm(2)/s. The residence times were 6.6 ps and 5.0 ps for F-actin and G-actin, respectively, while that for bulk water was 0.62 ps. These differences between F-actin and G-actin, indicating that the hydration water around G-actin is more mobile than that around F-actin, are in concert with the results of the internal dynamics of F-actin and G-actin, showing that G-actin fluctuates more rapidly than F-actin. This implies that the dynamics of the hydration water is coupled to the internal dynamics of the actin molecules. The D(T) values of the water molecules outside of the first hydration layer were found to be similar to that of bulk water though the residence times are strongly affected by the first hydration layer. This supports the recent observation on intracellular water that shows bulk-like behavior.