Abstract

Deep-sea organisms must cope with high hydrostatic pressures (HHP) up to the kbar regime to control their biomolecular processes. To alleviate the adverse effects of HHP on protein stability most organisms use high amounts of osmolytes. Little is known about the effects of these high concentrations on ligand binding. We studied the effect of the deep-sea osmolytes trimethylamine-N-oxide, glycine, and glycine betaine on the binding between lysozyme and the tri-saccharide NAG3, employing experimental and theoretical tools to reveal the combined effect of osmolytes and HHP on the conformational dynamics, hydration changes, and thermodynamics of the binding process. Due to their different chemical makeup, these cosolutes modulate the protein-sugar interaction in different ways, leading to significant changes in the binding constant and its pressure dependence. These findings suggest that deep-sea organisms may down- and up-regulate reactions in response to HHP stress by altering the concentration and type of the intracellular osmolyte.