A bulky hydrophobic residue is not required to maintain the v-conformation of enzyme-bound thiamin diphosphate.
Andrews, F.H., Tom, A.R., Gunderman, P.R., Novak, W.R., McLeish, M.J.(2013) Biochemistry 52: 3028-3030
- PubMed: 23607689 
- DOI: 10.1021/bi400368j
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
4GG1, 4GM0, 4GM1, 4GM4, 4GP9, 4GPE, 4JD5 - PubMed Abstract: 
It is widely accepted that, in thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzymes, much of the rate acceleration is provided by the cofactor. Inter alia, the reactive conformation of ThDP, known as the V-conformation, has been attributed to the presence of a bulky hydrophobic residue located directly below the cofactor ...