Probing intra-molecular mechanics of single circularly permuted green fluorescent protein with atomic force microscopy

We investigated the mechanical unfolding of single circularly permuted green fluorescent protein (cpGFP) with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The molecule was stretched from its N- and C-termini by an external force causing an elongation of the polypeptide chain up to its full length. The features of the force–extension (F–E) curves were found to depend on the stretching speed. At fast speeds, we detected one peak in the F–E curves before final rupture of the extended molecule, which we interpreted as the unfolding of two terminal halves within cpGFP. We observed several more force peaks in a sawtooth pattern at much slower speeds, and explained the appearance of such force peaks as cooperative unfolding of the hidden sub-structures inside each terminal half.