In silico prediction and in vitro validation of the effect of pH on adhesive behaviour of the fused CsgA-MFP3 protein

Recombinant production of mussel foot proteins among marine-inspired proteinaceous adhesive materials has been attracted high attention for medical applications, due to their exceptional versatility potential of hierarchically arranged nanostructures. Various biochemical and proteinous factors such as amyloid CsgA curli protein have been used as a synergistic factor to enhance the constancy of obtained bio-adhesion but their mechanistic interactions have not yet been deeply investigated widely in different pH conditions. To this end, the present study has first sought to assess molecular simulation and prediction by using RosettaFold to predict the 3-dimensional structure of the fused CsgA subunit and the MFP3 protein followed by in vitro verification. It was developed an ensemble of quantitative structure-activity relationship models relying on simulations according to the surface area and molecular weight values of the fused proteins in acidic to basic situations using PlayMolecule (protein preparation app for MD simulations) online databases followed by molecular dynamic simulation at different pHs. It was found that acidic conditions positively affect adhesive strength throughout the chimeric structure based on comparative structure-based analyses along with those obtained in prevailing literature. Atomic force microscopy analysis was confirmed obtained in silico data which showed enhanced adhesive properties of fused protein after self-assembly in low pH conditions. In conclusion, the augmented model for reactivity predictions not only unravels the performance and explain ability of the adhesive proteins but in turn paves the way for the decision-making process for chimeric subunits modifications needed for future industrial production. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13568-022-01435-5.