Prospects for resonance assignments in multidimensional solid-state NMR spectra of uniformly labeled proteins

Summary The feasibility of assigning the backbone ¹⁵N and ¹³C NMR chemical shifts in multidimensional magic angle spinning NMR spectra of uniformly isotopically labeled proteins and peptides in unoriented solid samples is assessed by means of numerical simulations. The goal of these simulations is to examine how the upper limit on the size of a peptide for which unique assignments can be made depends on the spectral resolution, i.e., the NMR line widths. Sets of simulated three-dimensional chemical shift correlation spectra for artificial peptides of varying length are constructed from published liquid-state NMR chemical shift data for ubiquitin, a well-characterized soluble protein. Resonance assignments consistent with these spectra to within the assumed spectral resolution are found by a numerical search algorithm. The dependence of the number of consistent assignments on the assumed spectral resolution and on the length of the peptide is reported. If only three-dimensional chemical shift correlation data for backbone ¹⁵N and ¹³C nuclei are used, and no residue-specific chemical shift information, information from amino acid side-chain signals, and proton chemical shift information are available, a spectral resolution of 1 ppm or less is generally required for a unique assignment of backbone chemical shifts for a peptide of 30 amino acid residues.