| Abstract: | We used time-dependent fluorescence energy transfer to determine the distribution of donor-to-acceptor distances in native and denatured troponin I(TnI). The single tryptophan residue (Trp 158) of TnI served as the donor (D), and the acceptor (A) was a labeled cysteine residue (Cys 133). The time-dependent intensity decays of the donor were measured by the frequency-domain method from 10 to 320 MHz. The frequency response of the donor emission, in the absence and presence of acceptor, was used to recover the distribution of D to A distances, using an algorithm that accounts for the intrinsic multiexponential decay of the donor. In the native state the D–A distribution is characterized by an average distance of 23 Å and a half-width of 12 Å. Denaturation results in a modest increase in the average distance to 27 Å, and a dramatic increase in half-width to 47 Å. We believe the ability to recover distance distributions will have numerous applications in the characterization of biological macromolecules. |
