# The Marginal Stability of Proteins: How Jiggling and Wiggling of Atoms are Connected to Neutral Evolution

## TL;DR

This paper proposes that the universal upper bound on protein stability is a thermodynamic property, suggesting that neutral evolution is also a universal phenomenon related to protein stability, independent of molecular changes.

## Contribution

It introduces the idea that protein stability's upper bound is a universal thermodynamic property, linking it to neutral evolution across molecular complexes.

## Key findings

- Protein stability upper bound is approximately 7.4 kcal/mol.
- This stability limit is unaffected by mutations or modifications.
- The stability bound stems from thermodynamic principles, not evolutionary processes.

## Abstract

Here we propose that the upper bound marginal stability of proteins (7.4 kcal/mol) is a universal property that includes macro-molecular complexes and is not affected by molecular changes such as mutations and Post-Translational Modifications. Its existence is, essentially, a consequence of the Anfinsen thermodynamic hypothesis rather than a result of an evolutive process. This result enables us to conjecture that neutral evolution should also be, with respect to protein stability, a universal phenomenon.

---
Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1907.07524