Internet conferences in glycobiology.

In this article we describe recent activities in the use of electronic conferencing in glycobiology focusing on our experiences with the organization and development of the Second Electronic Glycoscience Conference (EGC-2), which was held on the Internet and World Wide Web in September 1996. EGC-2 involved the presentation and discussion of scientific research results in a virtual conferencing environment which incorporated virtual replicas of many activities usually observed at a physical conference in addition to features unique to the electronic medium. Highlights of the scientific program and technical developments in the design and use of these facilities are briefly described. EGC-3 will be held in October 1997.

Conformational analysis and molecular dynamics simulation of alpha-(1-->2) and alpha-(1-->3) linked rhamnose oligosaccharides: reconciliation with optical rotation and NMR experiments.

Molecular mechanics and dynamics calculations were carried out on the disaccharides alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->2)-alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->OMe) (1) and alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->3)-alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->OMe) (2), and the trisaccharide alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->2)-alpha-L-Rhap-(1--> 3)-alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->OMe) (3). The semiflexible conformational behavior of these molecules was characterized by the occupation of a combination of different glycosidic linkage and side-chain conformational positions whose relative occupations were sensitive to dielectric screening. Molecular dynamics simulations of the trisaccharide 3 showed little difference between the linkage conformations in the trisaccharide and the component disaccharides 1 and 2 Experimental optical rotation data of 1 and 2 were obtained as a function of temperature in varying solvents. The molecular models were combined with the semiempirical theory of Stevens and Sathyanarayana to yield calculated optical rotations. Interpretation of the data of both 1 and 2 implied that a combination of conformations, both in glycosidic and side-chain positions, could explain the experimental data. Solvents effects were important in influencing the conformational mix and averaged optical rotation. Three-bond heteronuclear coupling constants 3JC H were obtained for the glycosidic linkages of 1 and 2 in D2O and DMSO. Analysis of the coupling constants with a Karplus curve showed that small reductions in the glycosidic torsion angles of the conformations of the models used here of ca. 10 degrees-15 degrees in phi and 5 degrees-10 degrees in psi were required to give better agreement with experiment; a combination of conformations for both 1 and 2 was consistent with the data. There was a negligible influence on the coupling constants of 1 on changing the solvent from D2O to DMSO.

Virtual resource development in the glycosciences.

The development of Internet-based virtual resources is a relatively new area of scientific and technical activity that is currently undergoing rapid expansion. Major factors fuelling recent growth include the emergence of multimedia capabilities through the rapid evolution of the World Wide Web, the reduction in cost of high quality personal computers and graphics workstations and the provision of mass-marketed provider services. Prior to 1995 the presence of Internet resources in the glycosciences was virtually non-existent. Existing scientific knowledge was primarily made available on the Net through the provision of databases from gopher and ftp sites. A particular example in the glycosciences is the Carbbank database of biological carbohydrate sequences. We will describe here our efforts in 1994-95 in establishing The Glycoscience Network (TGN, http:@ bellatrix.pcl.ox.ac.uk/TGN/). These activities included the establishment of a newsgroup, mailing lists, Web resources and the running of the First Electronic Glycoscience Conference (EGC-1, http:@bellatrix.pcl.ox.ac.uk/egc/). EGC-1 included many novel initiatives in the glycosciences including electronic posters and papers, a Virtual Conference Centre, a Web-based hyperglossary, Virtual Trade and Employment Centres, refereed electronic publishing, and the creation of a Virtual Reality Gallery. We would like to look towards the near future and discuss several initiatives in virtual resource creation that we believe will have significant scientific impact on the glycosciences including the development of bioinformatics-based servers, sophisticated interactive databases, and videoconferencing. Furthermore, we cherish the belief that these resources will foster international scientific collaboration and progress of an extent never previously possible. Finally, we indulge in speculation and make some suggestions on the form and long-term impact of Glycoscience Virtual Resources. We predict that their development may completely reconstruct the scientific environment that we work in as scientists and we reflect on the probable benefits and pitfalls to be encountered.

Conformational analysis of the disaccharide alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->2)-alpha-L-Rhap-OMe: comparison of dynamics simulations with NMR experiments.

The conformational behaviour of the disaccharide alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->2)-alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->OMe) has been examined using molecular dynamics (MD) and Langevin dynamics simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy; an 800 ps MD trajectory with the explicit inclusion of water was also determined. The results of the MD simulations were found to be sensitive to the choice of dielectric constant and force-field parameters. NOE build-up curves were constructed from the water and vacuum dynamics trajectories and compared with experimental values. Calculation of NOE data sets from the simulations was problematic for several reasons, including the similarity in time scales for the internal and overall motions.

Molecular dynamics simulations of a lipid bilayer and of hexadecane: an investigation of membrane fluidity.

Molecular dynamics simulations of a fluid-phase dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer in water and of neat hexadecane are reported and compared with nuclear magnetic resonance spin-lattice relaxation and quasi-elastic neutron scattering data. On the 100-picosecond time scale of the present simulations, there is effectively no difference in the reorientational dynamics of the carbons in the membrane interior and in pure hexadecane. Given that the calculated fast reorientational correlation times and the "microscopic" lateral diffusion of the lipids show excellent agreement with the experimental results, it is concluded that the apparently high viscosity of the membrane is more closely related to molecular interactions on the surface rather than in the interior.