The effect of Mg ++ on the conformation of the Ca ++ -binding component of troponin

Mg⁺⁺ like Ca⁺⁺ induces a conformational change in the Ca⁺⁺-binding component of troponin. However, this change is only 36 % of the change in fluorescence intensity and 80 % of the change in optical rotation induced by Ca⁺⁺. The apparent binding constant of Mg⁺⁺ to the Ca⁺⁺-binding component is 5 × 10³ M^?1, much smaller than that of Ca⁺⁺. Circular dichroism measurements show that these changes are simple helix-coil transitions. Unlike the Ca⁺⁺-induced conformational change, the Mg⁺⁺-induced change cannot be propagated to other muscle proteins, and therefore has no physiological meaning.