The folding transition state theory in simple model systems

We present the results of an exact analysis of several model free energy landscapes of a protein to clarify the notion of the transition state and the physical meaning of the phi values determined in protein engineering experiments. We argue that a proper search strategy for the transition state in more realistic models should involve identification of a common part of various methods. Two of the models considered involve explicit conformations instead of just points on the free energy axis. These models are minimalistic as they are endowed only with five or 36 states to enumerate folding paths and to identify the transition state easily. Even though they display much of the two-state behavior, the phi values are found not to correspond to the conformation of the transition state.