General theory of the long-range interactions in protein folding

► The process of the globular structure formation from a long molecular chain is examined. ► It is shown that the globule formation can occur without production of non-native contacts. ► The proposed model allows to avoid a search of non-native variants since long-distance interactions with a high selectivity. ► This interaction takes place between the chain regions that form native bonds. ► The databank data analysis shows that the developed model can be applied to real polypeptide chains.