Florian E. C. Blanc

Florian E. C. Blanc

Computational molecular biophysicist.

Publications

A weak coupling mechanism for the early steps of the recovery stroke of myosin VI: A free energy simulation and string method analysis

PLOS Computational Biology, 2024

With eABF and the string method, we find that the recovery stroke of myosin VI is initiated by lever-arm re-priming with only weak coupling to ATPase activation.

Florian E.C. Blanc*, Anne Houdusse, Marco Cecchini* (2024). "A weak coupling mechanism for the early steps of the recovery stroke of myosin VI: A free energy simulation and string method analysis" https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012005

Mechanism of Proton-Powered c-Ring Rotation in a Mitochondrial ATP Synthase

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024

With extensive eABF calculations, we reveal the mechanism of the 36 deg rotation step of the ATP synthase rotor, clarifying the water-mediated proton transfer pathway and the role of experimentally-detected intermediates.

Blanc, Florian E. C. and Hummer, Gerhard (2024). "Mechanism of Proton-Powered c-Ring Rotation in a Mitochondrial ATP Synthase." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 12111. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2314199121

Molecular Mechanisms of Inorganic-Phosphate Release from the Core and Barbed End of Actin Filaments

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2023

We combine cryo-EM, enhanced sampling MD simulations, machine learning, and in vivo and in vitro reconstitution to reveal the mechanism and pathway for Pi release from F-actin, both from filament interior and barbed end.

W. Oosterheert*, F.E.C. Blanc*, A. Roy, A. Belyy, O. Hofnagel, G. Hummer, P. Bieling, S. Raunser (2023). "Molecular Mechanisms of Inorganic-Phosphate Release from the Core and Barbed End of Actin Filaments." Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-023-01101-9

Antibody Accessibility Determines Location of Spike Surface Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Variants

PLOS Computational Biology, 2023

Using data from the early days of the pandemic, we show that surface accessibility to antibodies -estimated using a simple computational protocol- is a predictor of mutation sites found in later variants of concern.

von Bülow, S., Sikora, M., Blanc, F.E.C., Covino, R., Hummer, G. (2023). "Antibody Accessibility Determines Location of Spike Surface Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Variants." PLOS Computational Biology. 191. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010822

Computational Epitope Map of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein

PLOS Computational Biology, 2021

We build one of the first complete models of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, simulate a viral membrane patch with 4 spike copies for 2.5 microseconds, and devise a machine learning approach to predict immunogenic sites from the simulation.

Sikora, M.*, von Bülow, S.*, Blanc, F.E.C.*, Gecht, M.*, Covino, R.*, Hummer, G. (2021). "Computational Epitope Map of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein." PLOS Computational Biology. 174. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008790

An Asymmetric Mechanism in a Symmetric Molecular Machine

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2021

We combine ABF and the string method to look at how a synthetic molecular muscle contracts, and show that an asymmetric pathway in which subunits bend and rearrange sequentially dominates despite the symmetry of the supra-molecule.

Florian Blanc, Marco Cecchini (2021). "An Asymmetric Mechanism in a Symmetric Molecular Machine." The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. 1213. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00404

In Situ Structural Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Reveals Flexibility Mediated by Three Hinges

Science, 2020

In situ cryo-ET and molecular modelling reveal the hinges of the SARS-CoV-2 a few months into the pandemic.

Turoňová*, B., Sikora*, M., Schürmann*, C., Hagen, W.J.H., Welsch, S., Blanc, F.E.C., von Bülow, S., Gecht, M., Bagola, K., Hörner, C., van Zandbergen, G., Landry, J., Trevisan Doimo de Azevedo N., Mosalaganti, S., Schwarz, A., Covino, R., Mühlebach, M.D., Hummer, G., Locker, J.K., Beck, M. (2020). "In Situ Structural Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Reveals Flexibility Mediated by Three Hinges." Science. Volume(Number). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd5223

An Intermediate Along the Recovery Stroke of Myosin VI Revealed by X-ray Crystallography and Molecular Dynamics

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018

With crystallography, conventional MD and ABF, we characterise a structural state of the myosin motor domain which suggests a “ratchet-like” mechanism in which lever-arm repriming precedes active site closure and is not strongly coupled to it.

Florian Blanc, Tatiana Isabet, Hannah Benisty, H. Lee Sweeney, Marco Cecchini, Anne Houdusse (2018). "An Intermediate Along the Recovery Stroke of Myosin VI Revealed by X-ray Crystallography and Molecular Dynamics." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711512115

The Myosin X Motor Is Optimized for Movement on Actin Bundles

Nature Communications, 2016

Crystallography, single-molecule studies and implicit solvent simulations reveal how myosin X is optimised to walk fast on F-actin bundles.

Virginie Ropars*, Zhaohui Yang*, Tatiana Isabet*, Florian Blanc, Kaifeng Zhou, Tianming Lin, Xiaoyan Liu, Pascale Hissier,Frédéric Samazan, Béatrice Amigues, Eric D. Yang, Hyokeun Park, Olena Pylypenko, Marco Cecchini, Charles Sindelar, H. Lee Sweeney and Anne Houdusse (2016). "The Myosin X Motor Is Optimized for Movement on Actin Bundles." Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12456

Myosin MyTH4-FERM Structures Highlight Important Principles of Convergent Evolution

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016

Crystallography, binding affinity assays and MD simulations reveal “molecular tinkering” at play in the evolution of microtubule-binding domains in myosin tails.

Vicente José Planelles‑Herrero, Florian Blanc, Serena Sirigu, Helena Sirkia, Jeffrey Clause, Yannick Sourigues, Daniel O. Johnsrud, Béatrice Amigues, Marco Cecchini, Susan P. Gilbert, Anne Houdusse, and Margaret A. Titus (2016). "Myosin MyTH4-FERM Structures Highlight Important Principles of Convergent Evolution." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 11321. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1600736113