The isolation of a dimer of gene 8 protein of bacteriophage fd

Gene 8 protein was isolated in a highly aggregated form in aqueous solution from purified fd bacteriophage. Gene 8 protein was dissociated to a stable dimeric form in the presence of 10 mm-sodium deoxycholate. The dimer obtained in the presence of the detergent was stable to further dissociation by sodium dodecyl sulfate, and was estimated to have a 51% helical content on the basis of circular dichroism data. When the deoxycholate was removed, the dimers were observed by electron microscopy to self-associate to complex string-like structures. The dimer obtained is thought to be a result of one of the interactions between adjacent monomers in the model proposed by Marvin & Wachtel (1975).