Membrane assembly of M13 major coat protein: evidence for a structural adaptation in the hinge region and a tilted transmembrane domain

New insights into the low-resolution structure of the hinge region and the transmembrane domain of the membrane-bound major coat protein of the bacteriophage M13 are deduced from a single cysteine-scanning approach using fluorescence spectroscopy. New mutant coat proteins are labeled and reconstituted into phospholipid bilayers with varying headgroup compositions (PC, PE, and PG) and thicknesses (14:1PC, 18:1PC, and 22:1PC). Information about the polarity of the local environment around the labeled sites is deduced from the wavelength of maximum emission using AEDANS attached to the SH groups of the cysteines as a fluorescent probe. It is found that the protein is almost entirely embedded in the membrane, whereas the phospholipid headgroup composition of the membrane hardly affects the overall embedment of the protein in the membrane. From the assessment of a hydrophobic and hydrophilic face of the transmembrane helix, it is concluded that the helix is tilted with respect to the membrane normal. As compared to the thicker 18:1PC and 22:1PC membranes, reconstitution of the protein in the thin 14:1PC membranes results in a loss of helical structure and in the formation of a stretched conformation of the hinge region. It is suggested that the hinge region acts as a flexible spring between the N-terminal amphipathic arm and transmembrane hydrophobic helix. On average, the membrane-bound state of the coat protein can be seen as a gently curved and tilted, "banana-shaped" molecule, which is strongly anchored in the membrane-water interface at the C-terminus. From our experiments, we propose a rather small conformational adaptation of the major coat protein as the most likely reversible mechanism for responding to environmental changes during the bacteriophage disassembly and assembly process.