LAUSR

Formulations of hydrogen tunneling in enzyme‐catalysed C–H activation reactions indicate enthalpic barriers to reaction that are independent of chemical steps and dependent on the protein scaffold. A tool to identify catalytically relevant site‐specific protein thermal networks has emerged from temperature‐dependent hydrogen deuterium exchange (TDHDX). Focusing on mutant enzyme forms with altered activation energies for catalysis, TDHDX provides a comparative analysis of the impact of mutation on Ea for local protein unfolding. Identified thermal networks appear unrelated to protein scaffold conservation and track to the dictates of the catalysed reaction, including sites for metal binding. The positions of thermal networks provide a framework for further understanding of time‐dependent, functionally relevant protein motions. Measurement of nanosecond Stokes shifts at the surface of the thermal network in soybean lipoxygenase yields activation energies that are identical to Ea values measured for kcat. This finding identifies a rapid (> nanosecond), long‐range and cooperative structural reorganization as the thermal barrier to catalysis. A model for protein dynamics is put forward that integrates broadly distributed protein conformational sampling with protein embedded thermal networks.