ABSTRACT Protein function is governed by the underlying conformational dynamics of the molecule. The experimental and
theoretical work leading to contemporary understanding of enzyme dynamics was mostly restricted to the large-scale movements
of single-domain proteins. Collective movements resulting from a regulatory interplay between protein domains is often
crucial for enzymatic activity. It is not clear, however, how our knowledge could be extended to describe collective near-equilibrium
motions of multidomain enzymes. We examined the effect of domain interactions on the low temperature near equilibrium
dynamics of the native state, using phosphoglycerate kinase as model protein. We measured thermal activation of tryptophan
phosphorescence quenching to explore millisecond-range protein motions. The two protein domains of phosphoglycerate
kinase correspond to two dynamic units, but interdomain interactions link the motion of the two domains. The effect of the interdomain
interactions on the activation of motions in the individual domains is asymmetric. As the temperature of the frozen protein
is increased from the cryogenic, motions of the N domain are activated first. This is a partial activation, however, and the full
dynamics of the domain becomes activated only after the activation of the C domai