Rotational motion of cytochrome c oxidase in phospholipid vesicles

Natural abundance ¹³C and high field ¹H NMR spectroscopy are used to characterize the major coat protein of the filamentous bacteriophage fd in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles. Chemical shift dispersion of protein resonances, slow and differential exchange rates of amide protons, and relaxation parameters of the alpha carbons of the protein indicate that the detergent solubilized coat protein has a stable native conformation. The structure of the coat protein in micelles differs from that found for typical globular proteins in solution in that parts of the peptide backbone exhibit rapid segmental motion.     

Comparison of protein and deoxyribonucleic acid backbone structures in fd and Pf1 bacteriophages

The conformations of the protein and nucleic acid backbones in the filamentous viruses fd and Pf1 are characterized by one- and two-dimensional solid-state NMR experiments on oriented virus solutions. Striking differences are observed between fd and Pf1 in both their protein and DNA structures. The coat proteins of fd and Pf1 are almost entirely alpha helical and in both viruses most of the helix is oriented parallel to the filament axis. fd coat protein is one stretch of alpha helix that is slightly slued about the filament axis. In Pf1 coat protein two distinct sections of alpha helix are present, the smaller of which is tilted with respect to the filament axis by about 20 degrees. The DNA backbone structure of fd is completely disordered. By contrast, the DNA backbone of Pf1 is uniformly oriented such that all of the phosphodiester groups have the O-P-O plane of the nonesterified oxygens approximately perpendicular to the filament axis.     

NMR of fd coat protein

The conformations of the major coat protein of a filamentous bacteriophage can be described by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the protein and the virus. The NMR experiments involve detection of the ¹³C and ¹H nuclei of the coat protein. Both the ¹³C and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra show that regions of the polypeptide chain have substantially more motion than a typical globular protein. The fd coat protein was purified by gel chromatography of the SDS solubilized virus. Natural abundance ¹³C NMR spectra at 38 MHz resolve all of the nonprotonated aromatic carbons from the three phenylalanines, two tyrosines, and one tryptophan of the coat protein. The α carbons of the coat protein show at least two different classes of relaxation behavior, indicative of substantial variation in the motion of the backbone carbons in contrast to the rigidity of the α carbons of globular proteins. The ¹H spectrum at 360 MHz shows all of the aromatic carbons and many of the amide protons. Titration of a ¹H spectra gives the pKas for the tyrosines.     

Dynamics of fd coat protein in the bacteriophage

The dynamics of the coat protein in fd bacteriophage are described with solid-state 15N and 2H NMR experiments. The virus particles and the coat protein subunits are immobile on the time scales of the 15N chemical shift anisotropy (10(3) Hz) and 2H quadrupole (10(6) Hz) interactions. Previously we have shown that the Trp-26 side chain is immobile, that the two Tyr and three Phe side chains undergo only rapid twofold jump motions about their C beta-C gamma bond axis [Gall, C. M., Cross, T. A., DiVerdi, J. A., & Opella, S. J. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 101-105], and that most of the backbone peptide linkages are highly constrained but do undergo rapid small amplitude motions [Cross, T. A., & Opella, S. J. (1982) J. Mol. Biol. 159, 543-549] in the coat protein subunits in the virus particles. In this paper, we demonstrate that the four N-terminal residues of the coat protein subunits are highly mobile, since both backbone and side-chain sites of these residues undergo large amplitude motions that are rapid on the time scales of the solid-state NMR experiments. In addition, the dynamics of the methyl-containing aliphatic residues Ala, Leu, Val, Thr, and Met are analyzed. Large amplitude jump motions are observed in nearly all of these side chains even though, with the exception of the N-terminal residue Ala-1, their backbone peptide linkages are highly constrained. The established information about the dynamics of the structural form of fd coat protein in the virus particle is summarized qualitatively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Measurement of 15N relaxation in deuterated amide groups in proteins using direct nitrogen detection

15N chemical shielding tensors contain useful structural information, and their knowledge is essential for accurate analysis of protein backbone dynamics. The anisotropic component (CSA) of 15N chemical shielding can be obtained from 15N relaxation measurements in solution. However, the predominant contribution to nitrogen relaxation from 15N-(1)H dipolar coupling in amide groups limits the sensitivity of these measurements to the actual CSA values. Here we present nitrogen-detected NMR experiments for measuring 15N relaxation in deuterated amide groups in proteins, where the dipolar contribution to 15N relaxation is significantly reduced by the deuteration. Under these conditions nitrogen spin relaxation becomes a sensitive probe for variations in 15N chemical shielding tensors. Using the nitrogen direct-detection experiments we measured the rates of longitudinal and transverse 15N relaxation for backbone amides in protein G in D(2)O at 11.7 T. The measured relaxation rates are validated by comparing the overall rotational diffusion tensor obtained from these data with that from the conventional 15N relaxation measurements in H(2)O. This analysis revealed a 17-24 degree angle between the NH-bond and the unique axis of the 15N chemical shielding tensor.     

Demonstration by ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy of differences in DNA organization and interactions in filamentous viruses Pf1 and fd

Pf1, a class II filamentous virus, has been investigated by ultraviolet resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy with excitation wavelengths of 257, 244, 238, and 229 nm. The 257-nm UVRR spectrum is rich in Raman bands of the packaged single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genome, despite the low DNA mass (6%) of the virion. Conversely, the 229-nm UVRR spectrum is dominated by tyrosines (Tyr 25 and Tyr 40) of the 46-residue alpha-helical coat subunit. UVRR spectra excited at 244 and 238 nm exhibit Raman bands diagnostic of both viral DNA and coat protein tyrosines. Raman markers of packaged Pf1 DNA contrast sharply with those of the DNA packaged in the class I filamentous virus fd [Wen, Z. Q., Overman, S. A., and Thomas, G. J., Jr. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 7810-7820]. Interestingly, deoxynucleotides of Pf1 DNA exhibit sugars in the C2'-endo/anti conformation and bases that are largely unstacked, compared with C3'-endo/anti conformers and very strong base stacking in fd DNA; hydrogen-bonding interactions of thymine carbonyls are also different in Pf1 and fd. On the other hand, coat protein tyrosines of Pf1 exhibit Raman markers of ring environment identical to those of fd, including an anomalous singlet at 853 cm-1 in lieu of the canonical Fermi doublet (850/830 cm-1) found in globular proteins. The results indicate markedly different modes of organization of ssDNA in Pf1 and fd virions, despite similar environments for coat protein tyrosines, and suggest strong hydrogen-bonding interactions between DNA bases and coat subunits of Pf1 but not between those of fd. We propose that structural relationships between the protein coat and encapsidated ssDNA genome are also fundamentally different in the two assemblies.     

Assignment of the natural abundance 13C spectrum of proteins using 13C 1H-detected heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation NMR spectroscopy: structural information and stereospecific assignments from two- and three-bond carbon-hydrogen coupling constants.

Proton-detected heteronuclear multiple-bond 1H-13C correlations (HMBC) previously have been used for assignment purposes in a variety of isotopically enriched proteins. In the present study it is demonstrated that the technique yields an almost complete assignment of the natural abundance 13C spectrum of the protein basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI). In addition, the technique permits additional 1H assignments to be made for this well-studied protein. The intensities of observed correlations permit rough estimates to be made of 2J(C,H) and 3J(C,H) coupling constants. These couplings can be used for conformational studies of both the side chains and the backbone. Intra- and interresidue coupling between C alpha H and the carbonyl carbon provides information about the backbone angles psi and phi. Side-chain conformations can be determined from both two- and three-bond carbon-hydrogen coupling constants. The present study of BPTI together with its known high-precision solution structure yields an experimental correlation between resonance intensities and secondary structure. The spectra show the potential of the method in analyzing 13C NMR spectra of nonenriched proteins. The method yields 13C NMR chemical shifts, which are versatile parameters to be used to monitor structural changes, titrations, etc.     

Deuterium/hydrogen exchange factors measured by solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as indicators of the structure and topology of membrane proteins

Deuterium/hydrogen exchange factors (chi) were measured for the backbone amide sites of the membrane-bound forms of the 50-residue fd coat protein and the 23-residue magainin2 peptide in lipid micelles by solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. By combining kinetic and thermodynamic effects, deuterium/hydrogen exchange factors overcome the principal limitations encountered in the measurements of kinetic protection factors and thermodynamic fractionation factors for membrane proteins. The magnitudes of the exchange factors can be correlated with the structure and topology of membrane-associated polypeptides. In fd coat protein, residues in the transmembrane helix have exchange factors that are substantially smaller than those in the amphipathic surface helix or the loop connecting the two helices. For the amphipathic helical peptide, magainin2, the exchange factors of residues exposed to the solvent are appreciably larger than those that face the hydrocarbon portion of membrane bilayers. These examples demonstrate that deuterium/hydrogen exchange factors can be measured by solution NMR spectroscopy and used to identify residues in transmembrane helices as well as to determine the polarity of amphipathic helices in membrane proteins.     

Influence of N-H...O and O-H...O hydrogen bonds on the (17)O, (15)N and (13)C chemical shielding tensors in crystalline acetaminophen: a density functional theory study

A computational investigation was carried out to characterize the (17)O, (15)N and (13)C chemical shielding tensors in crystalline acetaminophen. We found that N-H...O and O-H...O hydrogen bonds around the acetaminophen molecule in the crystal lattice have different influences on the calculated (17)O, (15)N and (13)C chemical shielding eigenvalues and their orientations in the molecular frame of axes. The calculations were performed with the B3LYP method and 6-311++G(d, p) and 6-311+G(d) standard basis sets using the Gaussian 98 suite of programs. Calculated chemical shielding tensors were used to evaluate the (17)O, (15)N, and (13)C NMR chemical shift tensors in crystalline acetaminophen, which are in reasonable agreement with available experimental data. The difference between the calculated NMR parameters of the monomer and molecular clusters shows how much hydrogen-bonding interactions affect the chemical shielding tensors of each nucleus. The computed (17)O chemical shielding tensor on O(1), which is involved in two intermolecular hydrogen bonds, shows remarkable sensitivity toward the choice of the cluster model, whereas the (17)O chemical shielding tensor on O(2) involved in one N-H...O hydrogen bond, shows smaller improvement toward the hydrogen-bonding interactions. Also, a reasonably good agreement between the experimentally obtained solid-state (15)N and (13)C NMR chemical shifts and B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) calculations is achievable only in molecular cluster model where a complete hydrogen-bonding network is considered. Moreover, at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) level of theory, the calculated (17)O, (15)N and (13)C chemical shielding tensor orientations are able to reproduce the experimental values to a reasonably good degree of accuracy.     

Magic angle spinning carbon-13 NMR of tobacco mosaic virus. An application of the high-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy to very large biological systems.

Magic angle spinning 13C NMR was used to study tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in solution. Well-resolved 13C NMR spectra were obtained, in which several carbon resonances of amino acids of the TMV coat protein subunits that are not observable by conventional high-resolution NMR spectroscopy can be designed. RNA resonance were absent, however, in the magic angle spinning 13C NMR spectra. Since three different binding sites are available for each nucleotide of the RNA, this is probably due to a line broadening caused by distributions of isotropic chemical shift values. In 13C-enriched TM 13C-13C dipolar interactions also gave rise to line broadening. By suitable pulse techniques that discriminate carbon resonances on the basis of their T1 and T1 rho values, it was possible to select particular groups of carbon nuclei with characteristic motional properties. Magic angle spinning 13C NMR spectra obtained with these pulse techniques are extremely well resolved.     

31P nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shielding tensors of phosphorylethanolamine, lecithin, and related compounds: Applications to head-group motion in model membranes.

31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) powder spectra have been used to obtain the principal values of the chemical shielding tensors of dipalmitoyellecithin (DPL), dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine, and several related organophosphate mono- and diesters. In addition, the principal values and orientation of the phosphorylethanolamine shielding tensor were determined from 31P NMR spectra of a single crystal. In all compounds studied the shielding tensors were clearly monaxial. The monoester spectra are typified by the spectrum of phosphorylethanolamine with principal values of -67, -13, and 69 ppm relative to H3PO4. The diesters have a larger total anisotrophy, as indicated by the DPL values of -81, -25, and 108 ppm. These data as well as the orientation of the phosphorylethanolamine shielding tensor are correlated with the electron density distribution as determined by the bonding pattern of the phosphate. The spectrum of a DPL-water (1:1) mixture at 52 degrees C has a shift anisotrophy of 30 ppm and displays a shape characteristic of an axial tensor. This change from the rigid lattice DPL pattern is explained in terms of motional narrowing, and the shielding tensor data are used to interpret the motion of the phospholipid head group. Simple rotation about the P-O(glycerol) bond is excluded, and a more complex motion involving rotation about both the P-O (glycerol) and glycerol C(2)-C(3) bonds is postulated.     

Study of phospholipid structure by 1H, 13C, and 31P dipolar couplings from two-dimensional NMR.

Various motionally averaged 31P-1H, 13C-1H, 1H-1H, and 31P-13C dipolar couplings were measured for natural-abundance and unoriented phosphocholine in the L alpha phase. The couplings were obtained and assigned by a variety of advanced and partly novel two-dimensional solid-state NMR experiments. Whereas 31P-1H and 31P-13C dipolar couplings provide long-range structural constraints, geminal 1H-1H couplings and the signs of 13C-1H couplings are important new elements in a segmental order-tensor analysis of the lipid headgroup and glycerol backbone. The implications of these measured dipolar couplings for the conformational exchange of the lipid headgroup and the bending of the headgroup from the glycerol backbone are discussed. These dipolar couplings are also analyzed semiquantitatively in terms of the segmental order tensor.     

Relationship between1H and13C NMR chemical shifts and the secondary and tertiary structure of a zinc finger peptide

Summary Essentially complete assignments have been obtained for the¹H and protonated¹³C NMR spectra of the zinc finger peptide Xfin-31 in the presence and absence of zinc. The patterns observed for the¹H and¹³C chemical shifts of the peptide in the presence of zinc, relative to the shifts in the absence of zinc, reflect the zinc-mediated folding of the unstructured peptide into a compact globular structure with distinct elements of secondary structure. Chemical shifts calculated from the 3D solution structure of the peptide in the presence of zinc and the observed shifts agree to within ca. 0.2 and 0.6 ppm for the backbone C^aH and NH protons, respectively. In addition, homologous zinc finger proteins exhibit similar correlations between their¹H chemical shifts and secondary structure.     

Structural characterization of the N-terminal oligomerization domain of the bacterial chromatin-structuring protein, H-NS

The H-NS protein plays a key role in condensing DNA and modulating gene expression in bacterial nucleoids. The mechanism by which this is achieved is dependent, at least in part, on the oligomerization of the protein. H-NS consists of two distinct domains; the N-terminal domain responsible for protein oligomerization, and the C-terminal DNA binding domain, which are separated by a flexible linker region. We present a multidimensional NMR study of the amino-terminal 64 residues of H-NS (denoted H-NS1-64) from Salmonella typhimurium, which constitute the oligomerization domain. This domain exists as a homotrimer, which is predicted to be self-associated through a coiled-coil configuration. NMR spectra show an equivalent magnetic environment for each monomer indicating that the polypeptide chains are arranged in parallel with complete 3-fold symmetry. Despite the limited resonance dispersion, an almost complete backbone assignment for 1H(N), 1H(alpha), 15N, 13CO and 13C(alpha) NMR resonances was obtained using a suite of triple resonance experiments applied to uniformly 15N-, 13C/15N- and 2H/13C/15N-labelled H-NS1-64 samples. The secondary structure of H-NS1-64 has been identified on the basis of the analysis of 1H(alpha), 13C(alpha), 13Cbeta and 13CO chemical shifts, NH/solvent exchange rates, intra-chain H(N)-H(N) and medium-range nuclear Overhauser enhancements (NOEs). Within the context of the homotrimer, each H-NS1-64 protomer consists of three alpha-helices spanning residues 2-8, 12-20 and 22-53, respectively. A topological model is presented for the symmetric H-NS1-64 trimer based upon the combined analysis of the helical elements and the pattern of backbone amide group 15N nuclear relaxation rates within the context of axially asymmetric diffusion tensor. In this model, the longest of the three helices (helix 3, residues 22-53) forms a coiled-coil interface with the other chains in the homotrimer. The two shorter N-terminal helices fold back onto the outer surface of the coiled-coil core and potentially act to stabilise this configuration.     

Protein dynamics by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: Peptide backbone of the coat protein in fd bacteriophage

¹³C and ¹⁵N chemical shift anisotropy and ¹⁵N¹H dipolar powder patterns from backbone sites of the coat protein in fd bacteriophage are not averaged by motion. This means that the polypeptide backbone of the protein has no large amplitude motions rapid compared to 10⁴ Hz. Relaxation studies on the ¹³C_α and ¹⁵N amide resonances indicate the presence of motions on the 10⁹ Hz timescale. These results are reconciled with a model where an otherwise rigid backbone undergoes small amplitude, rapid motions.     

NMR assignments for the telokin-like domain of bacteriophage P22 coat protein

The bacteriophage P22 virion is assembled from identical coat protein monomers in a complex reaction that is generally conserved among tailed, double-stranded DNA bacteriophages and viruses. Many coat proteins of dsDNA viruses have structures based on the HK97 fold, but in some viruses and phages there are additional domains. In the P22 coat protein, a “telokin-like” domain was recently identified, whose structure has not yet been characterized at high-resolution. Two recently published low-resolution cryo-EM reconstructions suggest markedly different folds for the telokin-like domain that lead to alternative conclusions about its function in capsid assembly and stability. Here we report ¹H, ¹⁵N, and ¹³C NMR resonance assignments for the telokin-like domain. The secondary structure predicted from the chemical shift values obtained in this work shows significant discrepancies from both cryo-EM models but agrees better with one of the models. In particular, the functionally important “D-loop” in one model shows chemical shifts and solvent exchange protection more consistent with β-sheet structure. Our work will set the basis for a high-resolution NMR structure determination of the telokin-like domain that will help improve the cryo-EM models, and in turn lead to a better understanding of how coat protein monomers assemble into the icosahedral capsids required for virulence.     

13C solid-state NMR of gramicidin A in a lipid membrane.

The natural-abundance 13C NMR spectrum of gramicidin A in a lipid membrane was acquired under magic-angle spinning conditions. With fast sample spinning (15 kHz) at approximately 65 degrees C the peaks from several of the aliphatic, beta-, alpha-, aromatic, and carbonyl carbons in the peptide could be resolved. The resolution in the 13C spectrum was superior that observed with 1H NMR under similar conditions. The 13C linewidths were in the range 30-100 Hz, except for the alpha- and beta-carbons, the widths of which were approximately 350 Hz. The beta-sheet-like local structure of gramicidin A was observed as an upfield shift of the gramicidin alpha and carbonyl resonances. Under slow sample spinning (500 Hz), the intensity of the spinning sidebands from 13C in the backbone carbonyls was used to determine the residual chemical shift tensor. As expected, the elements of the residual chemical shift tensor were consistent with the single-stranded, right-handed beta6.3 helix structure proposed for gramicidin A in lipid membranes.     

Structure of the coat protein in Pf1 bacteriophage determined by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

The atomic resolution structure of Pf1 coat protein determined by solid-state NMR spectroscopy of magnetically aligned filamentous bacteriophage particles in solution is compared to the structures previously determined by X-ray fiber and neutron diffraction, the structure of its membrane-bound form, and the structure of fd coat protein. These structural comparisons provide insights into several biological properties, differences between class I and class II filamentous bacteriophages, and the assembly process. The six N-terminal amino acid residues adopt an unusual "double hook" conformation on the outside of the bacteriophage particle. The solid-state NMR results indicate that at 30 degrees C, some of the coat protein subunits assume a single, fully structured conformation, and some have a few mobile residues that provide a break between two helical segments, in agreement with structural models from X-ray fiber and neutron diffraction, respectively. The atomic resolution structure determined by solid-state NMR for residues 7-14 and 18-46, which excludes the N-terminal double hook and the break between the helical segments, but encompasses more than 80% of the backbone including the distinct kink at residue 29, agrees with that determined by X-ray fiber diffraction with an RMSD value of 2.0 A. The symmetry and distance constraints determined by X-ray fiber and neutron diffraction enable the construction of an accurate model of the bacteriophage particle from the coordinates of the coat protein monomers.