Molecular simulation of the interaction mechanism between CodY protein and DNA in Lactococcus lactis

In Lactococcus lactis, the global transcriptional regulatory factor CodY can interact with the promoter DNA to regulate the growth, metabolism, environmental adaptation and other biological activities of the strains. In order to study the mechanism of interaction between CodY and its target DNA, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were used to explore the binding process at molecular level. Through the calculations of the free energy of binding, hydrogen bonding and energy decomposition, nine key residues of CodY were identified, corresponding to SER184, SER186, SER208, THR217, ARG218, SER219, ASN223, LYS242 and GLY243, among which SER186, ARG218 and LYS242 play a vital role in DNA binding. Our research results provide important theoretical guidance for using wet-lab methods to study and optimize the metabolic network regulated by CodY.