Studies on the high-sulphur proteins of reduced Merino wool. Amino acid sequence of protein SCMKB-IIIB4

The complete amino acid sequence of protein SCMKB-IIIB4 is presented. It is closely related to the sequence of protein SCMKB-IIIB3 (Haylett, Swart & Parris, 1971) differing in only four positions. The peptic and thermolysin peptides of protein SCMKB-IIIB4 were analysed by the dansyl-Edman method (Gray, 1967) and by tritium-labelling of C-terminal residues (Matsuo, Fujimoto & Tatsuno, 1966). This protein is the third member of a group of high-sulphur wool proteins with molecular weight of about 11400. It consists of 98 residues and has acetylalanine and carboxymethylcysteine as N- and C-terminal residues respectively.     

Studies on the high-sulphur proteins of reduced mohair. The isolation and amino acid sequence of protein scmkb-m1.2.

The complete amino acid sequence of mohair protein, SCMKB-M1.2 (97 residues), was determined. The protein was isolated from reduced and carboxymethylated mohair by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose phosphate. Peptides for sequence determination were obtained by digestion with trypsin, pepsin, chymotrypsin, thermolysin and papain, and were fractionated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, paper chromatography and electrophoresis. The sequence of the peptides were determined by the Edman degradation method (by use of both the Beckman Sequence and a non-automatic procedure), and by partial acid hydrolysis. The protein is closely homologous to wool protein SCMKB-IIIB2, and also contains acetylated alanine as N-terminal amino acid.     

The complete amino acid sequence of a mouse κ light chain

The complete amino acid sequence of the kappa-chain of the mouse myeloma protein MOPC 21 was established. The protein was reduced and alkylated with iodo[2-(14)C]acetic acid, and 21 tryptic peptides were isolated, mainly by paper electrophoresis and paper chromatography. Three large tryptic peptides (of 35, 36 and 42 residues), which were difficult to isolate in this manner, were obtained pure and in excellent yields by a combination of Sephadex G-50 gel filtration in 1% (w/v) NH(4)HCO(3) and chromatography on a DEAE-cellulose column in ammonium acetate buffer, pH8.1. Peptides overlapping the tryptic peptides were isolated from a chymotryptic digest. The chain is 214 residues long. Microheterogeneity of two peptides was observed and is believed to be due to deamidation. It was not excluded that such deamidation could occur in serum from which the protein was isolated. The sequence is compared with the sequences of two other mouse kappa-chains, and with the human kappa-chain basic sequences.     

Studies on the high-sulphur proteins of reduced Merino wool. Amino acid sequence of protein SCMKB-IIIA3

The complete amino acid sequences of wool protein SCMKB-IIIA3 (131 residues) and a minor component SCMKB-IIIA3A (130 residues) have been determined. The proteins are mutually homologous and have free threonine as the N-terminal residue and carboxymethylcysteine as the C-terminus. The peptides used for the sequence work were obtained by trypsin, thermolysin, pepsin and chymotrypsin digestions and were fractionated by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, gel filtration on Sephadex G-25 and G-50, paper chromatography and electrophoresis. The Edman degradation method (employing both the Beckman Sequencer and a non-automatic procedure) was used to obtain the sequences of the peptides.     

The primary structure of rat liver ribosomal protein L37. Homology with yeast and bacterial ribosomal proteins

The covalent structure of the rat liver 60 S ribosomal subunit protein L37 was determined. Twenty-four tryptic peptides were purified and the sequence of each was established; they accounted for all 111 residues of L37. The sequence of the first 30 residues of L37, obtained previously by automated Edman degradation of the intact protein, provided the alignment of the first 9 tryptic peptides. Three peptides (CN1, CN2, and CN3) were produced by cleavage of protein L37 with cyanogen bromide. The sequence of CN1 (65 residues) was established from the sequence of secondary peptides resulting from cleavage with trypsin and chymotrypsin. The sequence of CN1 in turn served to order tryptic peptides 1 through 14. The sequence of CN2 (15 residues) was determined entirely by a micromanual procedure and allowed the alignment of tryptic peptides 14 through 18. The sequence of the NH2-terminal 28 amino acids of CN3 (31 residues) was determined; in addition the complete sequences of the secondary tryptic and chymotryptic peptides were done. The sequence of CN3 provided the order of tryptic peptides 18 through 24. Thus the sequence of the three cyanogen bromide peptides also accounted for the 111 residues of protein L37. The carboxyl-terminal amino acids were identified after carboxypeptidase A treatment. There is a disulfide bridge between half-cystinyl residues at positions 40 and 69. Rat liver ribosomal protein L37 is homologous with yeast YP55 and with Escherichia coli L34. Moreover, there is a segment of 17 residues in rat L37 that occurs, albeit with modifications, in yeast YP55 and in E. coli S4, L20, and L34.     

Complete amino acid sequence of NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase purified from human erythrocytes

The complete amino acid sequence of soluble NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase purified from human erythrocytes was determined. The enzyme, which contained 8 methionine residues, was cleaved by cyanogen bromide. The resulting nine peptides were separated by gel filtration and purified further by high-performance liquid chromatography. The purified peptides were sequenced by automated Edman degradation. Three large CNBr peptides, residues 1-101, 109-151, and 169-231, were further fragmented with trypsin, Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease or a lysyl endopeptidase of Achromobacter lyticus. The peptides obtained from the tryptic digest of citraconylated FAD-depleted apoprotein completed the alignments of the other peptides. The enzyme was composed of 275 amino acid residues. The 4 functionally important cysteine residues were located in the COOH-terminal portion. The molecular weight of the protein was calculated to be 31,260 without FAD. A prediction of the secondary structure was made by the method of Chou and Fasman. The protein was hydrophilic as a whole (43% polarity), but some regions were rich in hydrophobic residues. From the sequence homology of this enzyme with the pyridine nucleotide-binding sites of other flavoproteins, three candidates for the FAD and NADH-binding domains were suggested.     

Sites of methyl esterification on the aspartate receptor involved in bacterial chemotaxis

The methyl esterification of the aspartate receptor involved in chemotaxis has been studied in order to clarify the role of receptor modification. Receptors were methyl esterified in an in vitro system using S-adenosyl-L-[methyl-3H]methionine as a methyl donor. Methyl esterified receptors were digested with trypsin and radioactive tryptic peptides were purified using high performance liquid chromatography. Comparing the amino acid composition of the modified peptides with the DNA sequence of the receptor gene, two regions of the polypeptide chain which contain methyl esterified residues were identified. The regions are homologous and contain a strongly conserved 13 amino acid sequence. One region, containing up to three modified residues, is near the middle of the protein; the other, containing one modified residue, is near the carboxyl terminus.     

The primary structure of the alpha subunit of protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase. I. Isolation and sequence of the tryptic peptides.

The carboxymethylated alpha subunit of protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase was digested with trypsin. The 14 tryptic peptides were isolated by ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex and by gel filtration chromatography. Automated Edman degradation and carboxypeptidase Y and B digestion were used to establish the sequence of these peptides. Further fragmentation of two tryptic peptides, T3 and T5, by Staphylococcus aureus protease and cyanogen bromide, respectively, was necessary to complete the sequences. The tryptic peptides accounted for a minimum of 199 residues out of a total of 202 residues predicted by amino acid analysis.     

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-specific glutamate dehydrogenase of Neurospora.

Neurospora NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase that was treated with iodoacetate, iodoacetamide, or N-ethylmaleimide to block the thiol groups was cleaved with cyanogen bromide. Of the expected 10 peptides, based on a methionine content of 9 residues, 8 were obtained in pure form and 2 were handled as a mixture. The fragments ranged in size from 9 to 109 residues. In addition, there were isolated 6 peptides, produced by anomalous cleavage at the carboxyl groups of tryptophan residues, and two by hydrolysis of an aspartyl-proline bond. Preliminary separation of these peptides was accomplished by gel filtration followed by either ion-exchange chromatography of the larger peptides or by paper chromatography and paper electrophoresis of the smaller fragments. Ordering of the CNBr fragments in sequence was based upon sequences of tryptic and chymotryptic peptides obtained in another laboratory. The complete sequence of the protein is presented. The amino acid sequences of the bovine and chicken liver glutamate dehydrogenases previously determined show considerable homology with the NADP-specific enzyme of Neurospora in the NH2-terminal half of the molecule; this includes the region of the specifically reactive lysine residue and the portion of the sequence that has been implicated in coenzyme binding. Particularly striking is the fact that most of the residues conserved among the three homologous proteins would be expected to be important for conformational, rather than catalytic, effects. This implies that the conformation of the Neurospora enzyme must be similar in parts of its structure to the vertebrate enzymes but undoubtedly differs in some regards.     

Identification of the site of sulfation of the fourth component of human complement

The alpha-chain of the fourth component of complement (C4) contains tyrosine sulfate (Karp, D.R. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 12745-12748). Here we have determined the site and stoichiometry of sulfation of C4 secreted by the human hepatoma-derived cell line Hep G2. C4 was labeled with [35S]sulfate and isolated from culture medium by immunoprecipitation. C4 digested with trypsin and chymotrypsin and analyzed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography contained a single sulfate-labeled peptide. Digestion of C4 with trypsin alone yielded two major sulfate-labeled peptides, suggesting that there may be some sequence variability in C4 near the site of sulfation. Sequential Edman degradation of tryptic peptides labeled with [3H]tyrosine and [35S]sulfate detected tyrosine residues at positions 5, 13, 16, and 18. Chymotrypsin cleaved 5 residues off the NH2-terminal end of tryptic peptides, yielding a peptide with tyrosine at positions 8, 11, and 13. Comparison of the position of tyrosine residues with the reported sequence of C4 identified the sites of sulfation as tyrosine residues at positions 738, 741, and 743 in the alpha-chain of C4. All 3 of these tyrosine residues appeared to be sulfated. When sulfation of C4 was partially inhibited by addition of catechol to culture medium, three different forms of the peptide were resolved by high-performance liquid chromatography, consistent with peptides containing 1, 2, or 3 sulfates. Comparison of the quantities of tyrosine and tyrosine sulfate in C4 which had been labeled with [3H]tyrosine and digested with Pronase also indicated that C4 contained an average of 2-3 residues of tyrosine sulfate/molecule. These results suggest that the biologically active form of the protein is sulfated.     

Primary structure of belladonna mottle virus coat protein

The coat protein of belladonna mottle virus (a tymovirus) was cleaved by trypsin and chymotrypsin, and the peptides were separated by high performance liquid chromatography using a combination of gel permeation, reverse phase, and ion pair chromatography. The peptides were sequenced manually using the 4-N, N-dimethylaminoazobenzene-4'-isothiocyanate/phenyl isothiocyanate double-coupling method. The chymotryptic peptides were aligned by overlapping sequences of tryptic peptides and by homology with another tymovirus, eggplant mosaic virus. The belladonna mottle virus is more closely related to eggplant mosaic virus than to turnip yellow mosaic virus, the type member of this group, as evident from the sequence homologies of 57 and 32%, respectively. The accumulation of basic residues at the amino terminus implicated in RNA-protein interactions in many spherical plant viruses was absent in all the three sequences. Interestingly, the amino-terminal region is the least conserved among the tymoviruses. The longest stretch of conserved sequence between belladonna mottle virus and eggplant mosaic virus was residues 34-44, whereas it was residues 96-102 in the case of belladonna mottle virus and turnip yellow mosaic virus. A tetrapeptide in the region (residues 154-157) was found to be common for all the three sequences. It is possible that these conserved regions (residues 34-44, 96-102, 154-157) are involved in either intersubunit or RNA-protein interactions.     

Synthesis of Penicillins and Cephalosporins by Penicillin Acylase Entrapped in Fibres

Tryptic peptides from two cyanogen bromide (CNBr) fragments CB II and CB III of the Ala chain of ricin D were sequenced by manual Edman degradation. Chymotryptic or peptic peptides from the two fragments were isolated by Dowex 1 x 2 column chromatography to obtain overlaps for the tryptic peptides, and the complete amino acid sequences of fragments CB II and III were established. The amino acid residues in fragments CB II and CB III accounted for 75 and 45 residues, respectively, of 260 residues in the Ala chain.

These sequences together with the sequence of fragment CBI described in the preceding paper established the complete sequence of the 260 amino acid residues in the Ala chain. Some structural characteristics of the protein are also discussed.     

Salivary cystatin SA-III, a potential precursor of the acquired enamel pellicle, is phosphorylated at both its amino- and carboxyl-terminal regions

Cystatin SA-III was purified from human submandibular/sublingual glandular secretions by adsorption to hydroxyapatite, gel filtration chromatography, and reversed-phase HPLC. The amino acid sequence of its amino-terminus was deduced by sequential Edman degradation and found to be identical to the first 10 residues of cystatin HSP-12. The purified protein was digested with endoproteinase Asp-N and the digestion products were subjected to fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy. m/z values corresponding to 12 peptides were aligned to the sequence of cystatin S preceded by the eight-residue amino-terminal peptide detected in HSP-12. This process resulted in the assignment of peptides corresponding with 118 out of the 121 amino acid residues predicted from the nucleotide sequence for cystatin SA-III. In order to align several peptides, it was necessary to substitute four residues of phosphoserine for four residues of serine. Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and additional Edman degradation procedures localized the phosphate moieties to Ser-3, Ser-99, Ser-112, and Ser-116. This is the first report of the structure of cystatin SA-III deduced by amino acid sequencing techniques and indicates the sites of phosphoserine within the molecule. Based on these assignments, cystatin SA-III is unique among salivary proteins in that it possesses phosphate groups at its amino-terminus as well as its carboxyl-terminus.     

Peptides at the tRNA binding site of the crystallizable monomeric form of E. coli methionyl-tRNA synthetase.

A protein affinity labeling derivative of E. coli tRNA(fMet) carrying lysine-reactive cross-linking groups has been covalently coupled to monomeric trypsin-modified E. coli methionyl-tRNA synthetase. The cross-linked tRNA-synthetase complex has been isolated by gel filtration, digested with trypsin, and the tRNA-bound peptides separated from the bulk of the free tryptic peptides by anion exchange chromatography. The bound peptides were released from the tRNA by cleavage of the disulfide bond of the cross-linker and purified by reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography, yielding three major peptides. These peptides were found to cochromatograph with three peptides of known sequence previously cross-linked to native methionyl-tRNA synthetase through lysine residues 402, 439 and 465. These results show that identical lysine residues are in close proximity to tRNA(fMet) bound to native dimeric methionyl-tRNA synthetase and to the crystallizable monomeric form of the enzyme, and indicate that cross-linking to the dimeric protein occurs on the occupied subunit of the 1:1 tRNA-synthetase complex.     

Amino acid sequences of neurotoxic protein variants from the venom of Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing

The venom from the scorpion, Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing (range, Southwestern United States), was fractionated into ten protein zones by chromatography on CM-cellulose. Further purification of three of these zones on DEAE Sephadex in ammonium acetate developers yielded three principal neurotoxins designated variants 1, 2, and 3. Variants 1 and 3 each consist of 65 amino acid residues, variant 2 is composed of 66 residues, and each variant is a single polypeptide chain crosslinked by four disulfide bridges. The three variants have lysine at the amino terminus, serine at the carboxyl terminus, and their sequences exhibit a high degree of homology. The complete structure of variant 2 was deduced from the sequence of its tryptic peptides and overlaps provided by its chymotryptic peptides. The sequences of most of the tryptic peptides of variants 1 and 3 were determined, and the peptides were aligned by comparison with the homologous peptides in variant 2. The results show that there are 4 differences in sequence between variants 2 and 3 and 9 differences between variants 1 and 2. Variants 1 and 3 differ from each other at 5 positions in their sequences. These differences between the three protein variants are found in the amino terminal one-third of the molecules except for the deletion of one seryl residue at the carboxyl terminal of variants 1 and 3.     

Complete amino-acid sequence of bovine seminal ribonuclease, a dimeric protein from seminal plasma

The complete amino-acid sequence of BS-RNAse, a dimeric ribonuclease isolated from bovine seminal plasma, was determined. The reduced and S-carboxymethylated subunit chain of the enzyme was cleaved by trypsin and chymotrypsin. The resulting peptides, purified by cation-exchange chromatography were sequenced by dansyl-Edman, subtractive Edman degradation and carboxypeptidase A and B digestion. Chymotryptic peptides were used for the alignment. Automated Edman degradation of the native protein, through the N-terminal 41 amino-acid residues, completed the sequence information. The subunit chain of BS-RNAse, composed of 124 amino-acid residues, with a molecular mass of 13,610 Da, is highly homologous (81%) to pancreatic ribonuclease A. A good degree of homology (31%) was also found with human angiogenin. No N-linked carbohydrate-attachment sites, such as Asn-X-Ser/Thr, were found in the protein.     

Amino acid sequence of beta-galactosidase. V. Isolation and sequences of chymotryptic peptides.

The amino acid sequence of 72 chymotryptic peptides isolated from 14C-, 3H-labeled carboxymethyl-beta-galactosidase has been determined. A variety of techniques were used in the isolation procedures including separation by solubility, size, and ion exchange and paper chromatography. These peptides contain approximatley 500 amino acids, range in size from 2 to 26 residues, and give overlaps with tryptic peptides of 16 to 55 residues. Peptides from this digest and those reported earlier from tryptic digests account together for the sequence of about 600 of the 1021 residues in the subunit.     

Amino acid sequence around the cysteine residues of pigeon egg-white lysozyme: comparative study with other type c lysozymes

The cysteine-containing tryptic peptides of pigeon egg-white lysozyme have been purified by reverse-phase chromatography and thin-layer chromatography and electrophoresis on cellulose plates. They contain the eight cysteine residues of the protein. The amino acid sequence of these peptides reveals the existence of 24 differences in comparison to the homologous regions in hen egg-white lysozyme, among the 53 sequenced residues. The sequence data are compared to the corresponding ones in other type c lysozymes. According to this study, the pigeon lysozyme exhibits ten substitutions not observed in any other type c lysozyme. Pigeon lysozyme is the most different type c lysozyme from birds, according to the data on primary structure.     

Structure of human erythrocyte spectrin. I. Isolation of the alpha-I domain and its cyanogen bromide peptides

The alpha-I domain of human erythrocyte spectrin was produced by a mild tryptic digestion of the intact molecule and purified by a single step affinity chromatography procedure using a monoclonal antibody. A tryptic peptide representing the alpha-I domain, which migrated on polyacrylamide gels as an 80,000-dalton peptide, was subjected to automated Edman-Begg degradation. Products from automated sequencing were identified by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Two smaller proteolytic products of the alpha-I domain (T74 and T50) were also subjected to automated sequence analysis. CNBr cleavage of the alpha-I domain produced nine unique peptides which were separated by gel filtration on a high performance liquid chromatograph. Peptides were further purified by reverse-phase chromatography and characterized by amino acid analysis. Partial sequences were determined by automated NH2-terminal sequence analysis. A single aspartate-proline bond, which was partially hydrolyzed during the cyanogen bromide cleavage reaction, was also identified. These sequence data include the first 86 residues of the alpha-I domain, and the spectrin oligomer binding site has been tentatively localized within the first 39 residues. The sequence of 293 residues of a total 633 residues in the alpha-I domain is presented and represents the first structural information for this protein.     

Disulfide bonds of purothionine, a lethal toxin for yeasts.

Purothionin isolated from commercial wheat flour contained several components and two of them (A-I and A-II) were isolated in pure form by CM-52 column chromatography. Each component contained 45 amino acid residues with a 4 disulfide bonds. Purothionin A-II was digested with trypsin and thermolysin to isolate cystine peptides. These were separated and purified by chromatography on an SP-Sephadex column, and paper electrophoresis and chromatography. A peptide containing a -Cys-Cys- sequence was hydrolyzed with 10 N sulfuric acid. Amino acid compositions and partial sequence studies of the cystine peptides and their performic acid-oxidized peptides revealed the positions of all 4 disulfide bonds in purothionin A-II. They were formed between residues 3 and 39, 4 and 31, 12 and 29, and 16 and 25. The results of a partial study of purothionin A-I are also presented.