Multiple 6-bromotryptophan residues in a sleep-inducing peptide

We have characterized a novel sleep-inducing peptide comprising 33 amino acids with three residues of the unusual posttranslationally modified amino acid, 6-bromotryptophan. The peptide, termed "light sleeper" or the r7a conotoxin, was purified from the venom of the fish-hunting Conus radiatus. The light sleeper peptide has additional notable biochemical properties; it equilibrates slowly between two distinct conformers, and has four gamma-carboxyglutamate residues. The pattern of posttranslational bromination in the light sleeper peptide suggests that tryptophan residues at N- and C-termini may be preferential sites for posttranslational bromination.