ALBERT

Notes: We have tested 21 different basis sets of synthetic DNA circular dichroism spectra and have slected one for use in spectral analyses of natural DNAs. This “standard” set consists of spectra of eight polymers: poly[d(A-A-T)·d(A-T-T)], poly[d(A-G-G)·d(C-C-T)], poly[d(A-T)·d(A-T)], poly[d(G-C)·d(G-C)], poly[d(A-G)·d(C-T)], poly[d(A-C)·d(G-T)], poly[d(A-T-C)·d(G-A-T)], and poly[d(A-G-C)·d(G-C-T)]. This basis set, applied according to the first-neighbor polymer procedure of Gray and Tinoco, allows a more uniformly accurate spectral analysis of six natural complex DNAs and eight (A+T)-rich satellite DNAs for base composition and first-neighbor frequencies than was previously possible. We find that spectra of poly[d(A)·d(T)] and/or poly[d(A-C-T-)·d(A-G-T)] are not generally required for good analysis results but we show in this and the following paper that these spectra are needed for the most accurate analyses of some satellite DNAs.

Notes: The interaction of counterions with a suitably long, charged oligomer appears susceptible to treatment in the context of polyelectrolyte theory by the introduction of an end-effect parameter that reflects the reduced association of counterions with the terminal regions of the oligo-ion. Use of a physically reasonable value for the end-effect parameter provides excellent agreement between theory and the experimental data of Elson, Scheffler, and Baldwin [J. Mol. Biol. 54, 401-415 (1970)] on the dependences of melting temperature on salt concentration and chain length for a series of hairpin helices formed by d(TA) oligomers. The differences in behavior expected for hairpin, dimer, and oligomer-polymer helices are discussed. The salt dependence of the end-joining equilibrium investigated for λ DNA by Wang and Davidson [Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 33, 409-415 (1968)] is treated as an oligomer-polymer interconversion. The dependence of equilibrium constant for this reaction on counterion concentration is in good agreement with that predicted by theory for an end-region totalling 24 nucleotides, the known length of the λ ends.

Notes: Solvent denaturation is developed along thermodynamic lines rather than from multiple-binding theory. Almost all the relations derivable from site-binding theory have their counterparts in the thermodynamic formulation showing that the details of binding models may be sufficient but are not necessary for the general description of solvent denaturation. Equations are derived for the effect of denaturant concentration on stability at constant temperature and on tm. It is recommended that the thermodynamic treatment be used instead of binding models unless stoichiometric interactions are demonstrable experimentally.

Notes: The optical properties of the 1,N6 - etheno derivative of ApA (εApεA) have been studied. Absorbance and CD measurements suggest that (1) neutral salts tend to unstack this molecule and (2) the stacking interaction is weaker than in ApA. εApεA is found to be quenched strongly with respect to the monomer. (εAMP); this quenching is solvent dependent (1M NaCl 〉 5M NaClo4〉40%glycerol) and increases with the ratio of temperature to viscosity (T/η) in each case. Fluorescence lifetime measurements also reveal a temperature- and solvent-dependent decay which is nonlinear on a semilog plot. In the presence of 95% glycerol, this decay return to linearity. These data have been considered from two points of view: (1) two-state pictures which are based on thermodynamic least-squares fit to quatum yield and CD curves, together with two exponential fits to the decay curves and (2) a dynamical model in which relatives fluorophore motion leads to deexcitation via intramolecular collision. A simple model of type (2) gives qualitative agreement with the observed behavior.

Notes: The native antibiotic polymyxin B, carrying five positive charges, displaces the monoacetylated on from its adsorbed state at the interface between negatively charged lipid layers ans water. A simulation model for asdorption, governed by electrostatic forces, is presented. The model adequently representes the competitive adsorption kinetics and equilibria.

Notes: In order to study the role of D-amino acid residues in keeping the stable β-sheet conformation and in the antimicrobial activity of gramicidin S (GS), the four analogs of GS containing D-Ala, L-Ala, Gly, and Aib (α-aminoisobutyric acid) in place of D-Phe were synthesized. D-Ala-and Gly-containing analogs showed antimicrobial activity, while those containing L-Ala and Aib showed no activity. Conformation of these analogs and their derivatives were studied by comparison of ORD and CD spectra and by slective methylation method. It is concluded that the biologically active analogs have β-sheet conformation while inactive analogs have a much different conformation from that of GS. This indicates that D-Ala-Pro and Gly-Pro sequences favor taking a β-bend form but L-Ala-Pro and Aib-Pro sequences do not because the presence of L-side methyl group on the α-carbon atom of LAla and Aib residues destabilizes the β-bend form. This would explain why the inactive analogs which take a different conformation from that of the active ones result in the loss of activity.

Notes: Earlier studies by the authors showed that the collagen fibrils in rat-tail tendon have a bi-modal distribution of fibril diameters from a time shortly after birth through to the onset of maturity at about 3-4 months. Present work has extended those observations for rats up to the age of 2 years. Histograms of the fibril diameter distributions for mature tail tendon and direct electron microscope observations show that the fibrils break down as the tendon ages. Further work on the constant diameter subfibrils of diameter 140 Å described previously, has confirmed that these are part of the elastic fibers present in tendon at all ages. It has been shown that there is relatively little variation in the collagen fibril diameter distribution as a function of the position of the specimen in the tail, and as the measured percentage of the area taken by the collagen fibrils present at any particular point. Estimation of the fibrillar collagen content of rat-tail tendon as a function of age indicates that it increases steadily from birth and reaches a maximum at the onset of maturity, beyond which the fibrillar collagen content appears to remain constant.

Notes: We have made quantitative estimates of some of the energetic factors to be considered in packaging of double-stranded DNA in virus particles. Numerical calculations were made using parameters appropriate for T4 bacteriophage. The unfavorable factors, and the Gibbs free energies per mole virus at 20°C associated with them, are bending, 1.5 × 103 kcal/mol; conformational restriction upon condensation, 5.1 × 102 kcal/mol; polyelectrolyte repulsion, 2.1 × 105kcal/mol; and melting or kinking, 6.9 × 103 kcal/mol. These must be counterbalanced in the assembled phage by noncovalent bonding interactions between protein subunits in the phage-head shell; by interactions between the DNA and polyvalent cations, especially putrescine and spermidine; nad perhaps by repulsive excluded volume and electrostatic interaction between the DNA and acidic polypeptides. Indeed, a rough estimate of the standard free energey of interaction between T4 DNA and the putrescine and spermidine contained in the head is --2.1 × 105 kcal/mol. In the absence of the other two sources of stabilization, each head protein subunit must contribute about 210 kcal/mol of binding energy.

Notes: A theoretical basis for thin-film dialysis involving binding between a ligand and nondialyzing species is presented. A general differential equation that applies to the case of equivalent, noninteracting sites is derived relating [A]F, [A]T, [P]T, and K. Numerical solutions to this equation are used to develop a series of escape curves corresponding to specific values of the parameters [P]T, [A]i, K, and k0. A general method for determining an equilibrium binding constant from thin-film dialysis data is given. A comparison of thin-film dialysis results predicted by this theory with literature data shows essential agreement.

Notes: The normal and vacuum uv spectra of cytosine, 5-azacytosine, and 6-azacytosine thin layers were determined. The spectra were resolved into a series of Gaussian bands and the experimental band positions and oscillator strengths were compared with the calculated values. The calculations were carried out with the PPP-SCF-CI method. The agreement of the calculations with those of others and with the experiment is discussed.

Notes: To obtain information on the solvent-solute interactions in the dinucleoside monophosphates pertaining to the dimeric subunits of RNA and DNA, we have computed the accessibility of a water molecule to the oxygen atoms of the subunits following the method of Lee and Richards [J. Mol. Biol. 55, 379-400 (1971)]. The solute molecules (dimeric unit) is represented by a set of interlocking spheres of appropriate van der Waals radii assigned to each atom, a solvent (water) molecule is rolled along the envelope of the van der Waals surface, and the total surface accessible to the solvent molecule - and hence the solvent accessibility of various atoms of the solute molecule for different conformations - are computed. From the calculated atomic accessibilities, solvation maps in the (ω′,ω) space have been constructed, keeping ψ at 60°, 180°, and -60°. The C(3′)-endo sugar system in the case of DNA subunit have been considered. The solvation maps describing the solvatability of single and groups of atoms give significant information on the backbone conformational domains that are preferred for solvent interaction, thus adding knowledge to the relative stability of the various possible conformations. The B-DNA-type conformer exposes three polar atoms - namely, PO1, O(3′), and O(1′) - to external solvent, whereas the A-DNA- and C-DNA-type conformers expose only one polar atom - O(3′) and O(1′), respectively - to the solvent. The O(2′) atom of the furanose ring system in the RNA subunit could give added stability via solvent association or interunit hydrogen bonding with or without a bridging water. The superposition solvation maps describing the accessibility of a group of polar atoms help to interpret a good number of phosphodiester conformations observed in a energetically less favored conformational domains in the tRNAPhe crystal. Another intresting fact that results from this study is the prediction that the trans oriented of ω is the most favorable conformations of random-coil polynucleotides in solution.

Notes: The Conformational properties of synthetic S-peptide analogs, in which the residues in the N-terminal sequence 1-6 were progressively deleted or replaced with amino acids of lower helical propensity, were studied by CD. Increasing the concentration of guanidine hydrochloride and decreasing the temperature were found to produce progressive destruction of ordered conformations, in the parallel with the increasing solubility of the peptide unit, while increasing the concentration of trifluoroethanol and decreasing the temperature produced the opposite effect. The maximum helicity determined in the these sets of experiments is found equal to or greater than that determined in the formation of the ribonuclease S′ complexes. With some peptides the maximum value of predicted helical conformation is reached, and the tendency of tertiary structure to reduce the maximum possible helicity is evident. We discuss the validity of the procedure by which conformational information, drawn from measurements in helicogenic solvents, is related to the state in native protein.

Notes: A thermal perturbation curve (TPC) is defined to be the derivative of the fractional degree of saturation, f, with respect to temperature, considered as a function of the natural logarithm of free ligand concentration, y. The theoretical framework for the use of such curves in the thermodynamic analysis of ligand binding to macromolecules is presented. The thermal perturbation curve either provides or complements the information obtained from the derivative binding isotherm ∂f/∂y. For a single set of identical and independent sites the TPC is identical to the derivative binding isotherm. Analysis of such a curve directly yield ΔH0 and ΔG0 for the binding reaction. In actual experimental work, however, the TPC can only be approximated because of “self-buffering” effects relations between the parameter of the approximate curve and the thermodynamic quantities have been developed. This technique is applied to the proflavin-α-chymotryspin system to demonstrate its usefulness. The general features of thermal perturbation curves for cases of multiple sets of independent sites and cooperatively interacting sites have also been developed. The analysis of thermal perturbation curves in combination with other methods should provide a more powerful approach to the characterization of ligand-macromolecule interactions.

Notes: The conformation of three sequential copolypeptides, poly(L-tyrosyl-L-lysine), poly(L-tyrosyl-L-lysyl-L-lysine), and poly[L-tyrosyl-(L-lysyl)2-L-lysine] have been studied by a variety of techniques, including CD, ir spectroscopy, analytical ultracentrifugation, and x-ray diffraction. Depending upon the pH and sovent composition, poly(L-tyrosyl-Llysyl-L-lysine) and poly [L-tyrosyl-(Llysyl)2-L-lysine] can adopt either the α-helical or random-coil conformation, while poly(L-tyrosyl-L-lysine) forms either inter- or intramolecular β-structures.

Notes: Molecular motion in solid poly(L-alanine), Poly(L-leucine), poly(L-valine), and polyglycine has been investigated through measurement of the portion spin-lattice relaxation time at 30 and 60 MHz between 110 and 350°K. Rapid random reoriention of sied-chain methyl groups provides the dominent source of relaxation in the first three; activation energies are 10.5 ± 1 1, 8.5 ± 1 kJ/mol, respectively, significantly lower than in the monomeric crystals. Relaxation times in poyglycine are two orders of magnitude longer than in the monomeric crystals. Relaxation times in polyglycine, significantly lower than in the monomeric crystals. Relaxation times in polyglycine are two orders of magnitude longer and are attributed mainly to segmental motions of the polymer chains. Evidence of nonexponential recovery of nuclear magnetization was encountered in the first three homopolyamino acids but not in polylycine, and was attributed to the correlated time to characterize these motions gave quite good agreement with the data; some improvement was obtained for two polymers using a Cole-Davidson distribution of correlation times. For biopolymers using a Cole-Davidson distribution of correlation times. For biopolymers generally it is concluded that rapid methyl group reorientation is a common dynamical feature and an important source of nuclear magnetic relaxation.

Notes: The karl Fischer reagent method has been used to study the drying of whale skeletal muscle myoglobin. Drying curves for metmyglobin were obtained by mechanical pumping (moderate vacuum) and diffusion pumping (high vacum) at 20, 10, 0, -10, and -20°C. Strongly held water is present in about the same amounts as were previously observed with lysozyme. Nearly all of this strongly held water is still present during the drying of acid denatured metmyoglobin. This suggest that a core structure containing strongly held water is still present at pH 4.0. Comparison of the drying of metmyoglobin, deoxymyoglobin, and oxymyoglobin indicates that the iron-coordinated water of methyoglobin is the second most strongly held water of the molocule.

Notes: Mixtures of bacteriophage T4D particles with up to six tail fibres attached were seprated and analyzed in a quasielastic light scattering-band electrophoresis apparatus. The electrophoretic mobilities and diffusion coefficients of the seprated bands were determined during the same experiment. Species differing in mobility by 0.05 × 10-4 cm2/V sec were resolved. Henry's electropheresis theory for spheres indicates that each tail fiber contributes about 140 effective positive charges to the phage structure. Estimate of the charge using the permanent dipole moment and the electrophorectic mobility (Bontje et. al. (1977) Biopolymers 16, 551-572) gives an effective charge of + 230 to -250 per tail fiber. The charge distribution on the fiberless particles was estimated to be -3380 on the head and -290 on the tail if the dipole moment was assumed positive and -1400 on the head and -1000 on the tail for a negative dipole. Tail-fiber attachement does not proceed to completion in our invitro system, as substantial distributions as a function of tail-fiber input indicates the reaction is a random, noncooperative process.

Notes: Dielectric measurements have been carried out on partially hydrated collagen in the frequency ranges 100 kHz-5 MHz, 100 MHz-1 GHz, and 8-23 GHz. In the low-frequency range, a dispersion was observed around 100 kHz which results from inhomogeneous conductivity of the samples. A dielectric relaxation was observed aroud 0.3 GHz using time-domain-spectroscopy techniques. This relaxation can be considered to originate from mobile side chains. Microwave measurements indicate that the water relaxation may extend into the 10-GHz region. An apparent discrepancy between the main water relaxation time and the average rotational correlation time of water as measured by nmr line widths was resolved by the assumption that a fraction of the water molecules is bound to the collagen with residence times on the order of 10-6 sec, whereas the remainder of the water is only weakly bound and exhibits rotational rates on the order of 10-10 sec.

Notes: A model for the time dependence of DNA conformational state probabilities is formulated in the form of first-order differential equations. This model is applied to investigate the renaturation and denaturation rates for T2 and T7 DNA as reported in the series of experiments by Record and Zimm. Qualitative agreement is found in denaturation and for series of renaturation experiments with the same initial condition. However, partial agreement with series of renaturation experiments having the same final condition is obtained only by including an initial bimolecular step with properly matched pairs of strands. Comparison of all experiments with the calculated rates yields 5 × 104 min-1 as the step rate for melting a single base pair.

Notes: The contribution of the 1-6 N-terminal sequence to the conformational properties of the S-peptide (the 1-20 sequence of ribonuclease A) was assessed by determining in the ribonuclease S′ system the helical content and the binding capability of synthetic [Orn10]-S-peptide analogs, in which lysine1, glutamic2 and threonine3 were progressively deleted, alanine4 and alanine5were alternatively replaced by serine, and alanine6 was substituted by serine or proline. Both the deletion of the three N-terminal residues and the alanine6/proline replacement produces the loss of the helical structure up to lysine7. No or minor effects are found in all other cases. From the comparison of the binding data, the energy for the conformational stabilization of the N-terminal region was calculated to amount to 1.4 kcal/mol. The results are discussed in comparison with the known x-ray data of the enzyme, with some predictive rules of secondary structure which were applied to this region and with the known phylogenetic variance of the residues in this region.

Notes: In the Polymerization of phenylalanine N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) in No2Oh initiated by MeNHBzl, L-,D-, and DL-NCA As were polymerized at the same rate, and no stereoselectivity was observed. When the same experiment was carried out in HCONEt2, however, L- and D-NCA were both polymerized at a rate which was about twice as large as that of DL-NCA. In this case, the polymerization is stereoselective, ascribable to a preferable reaction between the optical enantiomorphs of the terminal residue of the growing chain and the NCA of the same chirality. On the other hand, the polymerization initiated by SarNMe2 and MeNH(CH2)2CONMe2 were stereoselective in NO2Ph and HCONEt2, but they were not stereoselective in m-(MeO)2Ph. These findings indicate that the polymerizations initiated by a strong base in highly dipolar solvents are stereoselective. Apparently, the reaction between a chiral, cyclic terminal of growing chain and a chiral, cyclic activated NCA in the activated-NCA mechanism is highly stereoselective. In addition, from a kinetic investigation on on the copolymerization between L- and D-NCAs, the penultimate chiral centers were also suggested to contribute to the stereoselection. Stereoselection by the α-helical conformation of the growing chain and by a chiral, linear terminal amine have been considered so far, and the contribution from the present type of stereoselection must have been overlooked.

Notes: Transient electric birefringence measurements of the bacteriophages T2L0 and T6 were performed under such conditions that the tail fibers are extended. The data obtained are compared to previously reported data for T4B. For all T-even phages the degree of extension of the tail fibers is a function of pH, ionic strength, and temperature. For T4B, much higher ionic strengths are needed than for T2L0 and T6 to accomplish complete tail-fiber extension. The rotational diffusion coefficients of the phages with fully extended fibers are equal to 120 ± 3 sec-1, 132 ± 5 sec-1, 157 ± 4 sec-1 for T2L0, T4B, and T6, respectively. The respective optical anistropies are - (2.66 ± 0.05) × 10-4, and - (3.07 ± 0.15) × 10-4. The differences in the rotational diffusion coefficient and optical anisotropy arise because the conformation of the fully extended tail fibers is different for the three phages. The tail fibers of T2L0 project further into the solution (away from the head) than do those of T4B and T6. The apparent permanent dipole moments of T2L0 and T6 decrease with increasing ionic strength. This decrease is caused by the screening of the surface charges on the phage body by the counter-ions in the solution. The biological relevance of this decrease is illustrated by the fact that the adsorption rate of T6 phages to E. coli B bacteria shows a similar dependence of ionic strength. Evidence is pressented that the tail fibers may move more or less independently of the phage body when an electric field is applied to the suspension.

Notes: The conventionally protected oligopeptides of the two homologous series Boc-(L-Ile)n-OMe and Boc-(D-aIle)n-OMe (n = 2-6) were synthesized in a standard stepwise fashion and their uv and CD spectra in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, and solid-state ir spectra were investigated. In addition, two oligomeric products derived from the NCAs of L-isoleucine and of D-allo-isoleucine and having a DP of 20 and 12, respectively, were studied in the solid state by x-ray and ir. No substantial differences between the properties of the diastereomeric oligomers in the solid state were noticed, a β-structure being very likely at least for the Boc-protected hexapeptides and the higher oligomers. In contrast, differences were observed between the spectroscopic properties of the diastereomeric oligopeptides, and especially of the hexapeptides, in trifluoroethanol solution. The different properties of the hexapeptides in solution were related to the existence, in the case of Boc-(L-Ile)6-OMe, of soluble molecular aggregates in which the peptide chains assume the β-conformation. These results provide an additional example of the influence of the configuration of asymmetric carbon atoms of the side chains on the conformational properties of peptide molecules in solution.

Notes: The 1H-nmr chemical shifts and the spin-spin coupling constants of the common amino acid residues were measured in solutions of the linear tetrapeptides H-Gly-Gly-X-L-Ala-OH in D2O and H2O, the influence of X on the nmr parameters of the neighboring residues Gly 2 and Ala 4 was investigated. The titration parameters for the side chains of Asp, Glu, Lys, Tyr, and His were determined. The pKa values obtained in D2O, with the use of pH-meter readings with a combination glass electrode uncorrected for istope effects, were 0.06 pH units higher in the acidic range and 0.10 pH units higher in the basic range than the corresponding pKa values in H2O. This suggests that the present data are suitable “random-coil” 1H-nmr parameters for conformational studies of polypeptide chains in D2O and H2O solutions.

Notes: This paper shows that backbone amide proton titration shifts in polypeptide chains are a very sensitive manifestation of intramolecular hydrogen bonding between carboxylate groups and backbone amide protons. The population of specific hydrogen-bonded structures in the ensemble of species that constitutes the conformation of a flexible nonglobular linear peptide can be determined from the extent of the titration shifts. As an illustration, an investigation of the molecular conformation of the linear peptide H-Gly-Gly-L-Glu-L-Ala-OH is described. The proposed use of amide proton titration shifts for investigating polypeptide conformation is based on 360-MHz 1H-nmr studies of selected linear oligopeptides in H2O solutions. It was found that only a very limited number of amide protons in a polypeptide chain show sizable intrinsic intration shifts arising from through-bond interactions with ionizable groups. These are the amide proton of the C-terminal amino acid residue, the amide protons of Asp and the residues following Asp, and possibly the amide proton of the residue next to the N-terminus. Since the intrinsic titration shifts are upfield, the downfield titration shifts arising from conformation-dependent through-space interactions, in particular hydrogen bonding between the amide protons and carboxylate groups, can readily be identified.

Notes: We present a method that can reduce conformational energy calculations for an arbitrary peptide consisting of n residues (n-peptide) to the complexity of a computation for (Gly)n. This reduction, and the concomitant savings in computer time, is accomplished by replacing all side chains, as well as the backbone CαHα and CαH2α groups, by “interaction centers.” The backbone CONH group is left intact in order to preserve its directional character. The interaction centers “see” each other, and the atoms of the CONH group via Boltzmann and space-averaged effective center-center and center-atom potentials, respectively. This averaged-interaction method is tested on the repeat tetra-, penta-, and hexapeptides of elastin, Val-Pro-Gly-Gly (VPGG), Val-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly (VPGVP), and Ala-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly-Val (APGVGV), using the stereoalphabet strategy for the energy calculations. The excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement we obtain with both full atom-atom calculations and extensive nmr data, coupled with the order-of-magnitude reduction in computer time, augurs well for the potential usefulness of the method.

Notes: Linear response theory in the decorrelation or random-phase approximation is used to calculate the absorption and CD spectra of model helical polymers, including single-stranded polyadenylic acid. The method, which makes use of infinite polymer selection rules for the linear response tensor, has the advantages that (1) only a few three-dimensional matrices need be inverted; (2) spectral band shapes of the polymer arise naturally from those of the monomer, as well as from the geometry-dependent interactions in the helix; and (3) the spectral dependence on geometrical factors of the helix is made transparent. It is found that the structure of the polymer CD spectrum depends critically on monomer bandshape. An asymmetric CD spectrum, similar to some experimental spectra, arises from either a Gaussian or a composite monomer band. Single-stranded polyadenylic acid spectra are sensitive to helix geometry in the region 200-240 nm, in reasonable agreement with experimental spectra. This sensitivity arises from the 207-nm monomer transition, and the results suggest that this region of the spectrum should be more fully exploited as a tool for helix geometry studies.

Notes: C24H34N2O9, orthorhombic, P212121; a = 39.432 (10), b = 14.061 (5), c = 4.850 (2) Å, M = 494 a.m.u., Z = 4, Dm = 1.22 g cm-3, Dx = 1.22 g cm-3, R = 0.13 for 1205 observed reflections after refinement with isotropic thermal factors. The urethane and amide bonds are in the trans configuration, as well as all the ester groups. The ϕ and ψ angles of the L-glutamyl residues fall in the β-structure region of the Ramachandran's plot; the molecule is rather flat with the amide plane almost parallel to the c axis along which two hydrogen bonds hold the molecules together to form long rows in a “parallel pleated-sheet” fashion.

Notes: The far-ir absorption spectrum of lysozyme was measured at room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures. Dried layers of single crystals of tetragonal lysozyme chloride with a diameter of 100-300 μm were grown on a silicon plate. Such single-crystalline samples were considered to have the following advantages in obtaining far-ir spectra: (1) surface scattering is reduced, (2) the protein molecules are closely packed, and (3) air-drying of the crystals reduces the number of water molecules without considerably changing the original configuration. The spectrum obtained consisted of a strong background absorption and a number of absorption peaks that were not clearly observed with the sample in the form of lyophilized powder. The peaks were ascribed to various delocalized vibrations of the main and side chains in the molecule. The peaks were also compared with the positions of Raman lines. The uniform background was assigned to the water molecules remaining in the crystals.

Notes: The duplex-to-strand transition of the self-complementary sequence dG-dC-dG-dC has been probed at the exchangeable and nonexchangeable protons and backbone phosphates by high-resolution nmr spectroscopy. The Watson-Crick imino and amino hydrogen-bonded protons, as well as the exposed amino protons, could be followed through the duplex-to-strand transition and provide information on base-pair stability at the tetranucleotide duplex level. The magnitudes of the experimental upfield nonexchangeable base-proton chemical shifts on duplex formation are consistent with calculations based on base-pair overlap geometries of the B-DNA type. The variation of the 31P chemical shifts in dG-dC-dG-dC with temperature appear to monitor changes in the ω,ω′ rotation angles about the O—P bonds in the postmelting transition temperature region. The complex formed between the antitumor anthracycline antibiotic daunomycin and the dG-dC-dG-dC duplex was probed at the nucleic acid and the antibiotic resonances as a function of temperature. The experimental complexation shifts of the observable daunomycin resonances have put constraints on possible overlap geometries between the intercalating anthracycline ring and adjacent base pairs.

Notes: Conformational analyses of cyclic tetrapeptides consisting of alternating cis and trans peptide units have been made using contact criteria and energy calculations. This study has been restricted to those structures having a symmetry element in the backbone ring, such as a twofold axis (d) or a center of inversion (i). There are five main results. (1) There are two distinct types of conformations, which are stereochemically favorable corresponding to each of twofold and inversion-symmetrical structures, designated as d1, d2 (for twofold symmetrical) and i1, i2 (for inversion-symmetrical). Among these, the i1 type has the lowest energy when glycyl residues occur at all four α-carbon atoms. (2) With the glycyl residue at all four α-carbon atoms, methyl substitution at the cis peptide nitrogen atoms is possible in all the four types, whereas the substitution at trans peptide nitrogen atoms is possible only for the i1 type. Thus only in the i1 type can all the nitrogen atoms be methylated simultaneously. The conformation of the molecule in the crystal structure of cyclotetrasarcosyl belongs to the i1 type. (3) When alanyl residues occur at all four α-carbon atoms, the possible symmetrical type is dependent on the enantiomorphic form and the actual sequence of the alanyl residues. (4) The methyl substitution at peptide nitrogen atoms for cyclic tetrapeptides having alanyl residues causes more stereochemical restriction in the allowed conformations than with glycyl residues. (5) The prolyl residue can be incorporated favorably at the cis-trans junction of both d and i types of structures. The results of the present study are compared with the data on cyclic tetrapeptides available from the crystal structure and nmr studies. The results show an overall agreement both regarding the type of symmetry and the conformational parameters.

Notes: Based on equilibrium binding studies, as well as on kinetic investigations, two types of interactions of Cu2+ ions with native DNA at low ionic strength could be characterized, namely, a nondenaturing and a denaturing complex formation. During a fast nondenaturing complex formation at low relative ligand concentrations and at low temperatures, different binding sites at the DNA bases become occupied by the metal ions. This type of interaction includes chelate formation of Cu2+ ions with atoms N(7) of purine bases and the oxygens of the corresponding phosphate groups, chelation between atoms N(7) and O of C(6) of the guanine bases, as well as the formation of specific intestrand crosslink complexes at adjacent G°C pairs of the sequence dGpC. CD spectra of the resulting nondenatured complex (DNA-Cu2+)nat may be interpreted in terms of a conformational change of DNA from the B-form to a C-like form on ligand binding. A slow cooperative denaturing complex formation occurs at increased copper concentrations and/or at increased temperatures. The uv absorption and CD spectra of the resulting complex, (DNA-Cu2+)denat, indicate DNA denaturation during this type of interaction. Such a conclusion is confirmed by microcalorimetric measurements, which show that the reaction consumes nearly the same amount of heat as acid denaturation of DNA.From these and the kinetic results, the following mechanism for the denaturing action of the ligands is suggested: binding of Cu2+ ions to atoms N(3) of the cytosine bases takes place when the cytosines come to the outside of the double helix as a result of statistical fluctuations. After the completion of the binding process, the bases cannot return to their initial positions, and thus local denaturation at the G·C pairs is brought about. The probability of the necessary fluctuations occurring is increased by chelation of Cu2+ ions between atoms N(7) and O of C(6) of the guanine bases during nondenaturing complex formation, which loosens one of the hydrogen bonds within the G·C pairs, as well as by raising the temperature. The implications of the new binding model, which comprises both the sequence-specific interstand crosslinks and the described mechanism of denaturing complex formation, are discussed and some predictions are made. The model is also used to explain the different renaturation properties of the denatured complexes of Cu2+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ ions with DNA.In temperature-jump experiments with the nondenatured complex (DNA-Cu2+)nat, a specific kinetic effect is observed, namely, the appearance of a lag in the response to the perturbation. The resulting sigmoidal shape of the kinetic curves is considered to be a consequence of the necessity of disrupting a certain number of the crosslinks existing in the nondenatured complex before the local unwinding of the binding regions (a main step of denaturing complex formation) may proceed.

Notes: A new analysis has been made on studies of the influence of imino acid content on the changes of collagen thermal stability (tm). It is shown that, for the interstitial vertebrate collagens, there is a strict regularity in the changes of tm depending on hydroxyproline content. No correlation is observed between tm and proline content. Also, no correlation between tm and hydroxyproline content is observed for invertebrate and basement membrane collagens. On the basis of the reported data, the dependence of tm on hydroxyproline content is considered to be not a correlation between tm and the total content of hydroxyproline, but only as the correlation between tm and the content of hydroxyproline occurring at the third position in the sequence (Gly-R2-R3)n. The results agree with the idea that the influence exerted by proline and hydroxyproline on the stabilization of the triple helix of collagen is different.

Notes: The conformation and conformational transitions of poly(His-Ala-Glu) have been investigated by ir, nmr, and CD measurements. The results obtained - as well as the results of our previous investigations by potentiometric titration and hydrodynamic techniques [Goren et al., Biopolymers (1977) 16, 1541-1555] - indicate that when dissolved in water, the co-polymer assumes a disordered conformation. On changing the pH of the solution, the states of ionization of the side-chain imidazole and carboxyl groups change in the same manner as in low-molecular-weight model compounds. Concomitantly, the overall shape of the macromolecule is altered, while the conformation of the polypeptide backbone changes from one disordered state to another but never assumes a regular form. In water/methanol and water/trifluoroethanol mixtures, transitions from a disordered state to the α-helix conformation were observed on increasing the alcohol content of the system. The conformational transitions followed pathways which differ from one another according to the experimental conditions employed. Conformational landmarks (intermediates) have been identified along these pathways.

Notes: The decrease in the limiting viscosity number [η] with temperature T for hyaluronic acid in nonalkaline solution and chondroitin 4-sulfate in neutral and alkaline solutions may be expressed in terms of the temperature coefficient of the Kratky-Porod persistence length a: d ln a/dT = -0.0040 (±0.0005). The result, while numerically somewhat smaller, resembles qualitatively that of cellulose derivatives. As in the latter case, standard conformational calculations underestimate the coefficient, which may be due to neglect of random occurrence of local conformational features of higher energy. In alkaline solution, large decreases in [η] of hyaluronic acid are accompanied by a positive temperature coefficient of [η]. This temperature effect is interpreted as an endothermal shift from the alkaline, low [η] form of the polymer to the neutral, high [η] form with increasing temperature.

Notes: We have considered whether or not the tertiary structure of a biomolecule is the same in a crystal (or an oriented film) as it is in solution. A methodology has been developed for comparing polarized absorption spectra obtained from a solid-state sample with those obtained from an oriented solute to further resolve this question. An electric dichroism instrument built in our laboratory was used to measure the solution dichroism signal which, along with the ordinary solution uv absorption spectra, yields polarized absorption spectra in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the applied electric field. These were then compared to polarized absorption data from oriented films of nucleic acids to determine whether the two sets of data could be rotated into coincidence. This rotation was accomplished using a computer program based on a nonlinear programming method. Four nucleic acids were studied and the film and solution data for three of these were found to be equivalent, requiring rotation through an angle of 3°-20°, depending on film humidity, to bring them into coincidence. For the fourth sample we were unable, perhaps because of signal-to-noise ratio limitations, to find a correlation. Flow dichroism and electric dichroism data were also found to be quite similar. Thus it is clear that the induced dipole moment is along the helical axis and that the physical, hydrodynamical, and electrical axes of the nucleic acid molecules are equivalent.

Notes: The effect of enzyme-inhibitor complex formation on the hydration properties of the macromolecular moiety was investigated on the model system of α-chymotrypsin and its Ser-195 tosyl derivative. The primary (A-shell) hydration of the native and modified enzyme was compared by sorption measurements. The secondary (B-shell) hydration water was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. Tosylation is known to induce pronounced conformational changes in the chymotrypsin molecule. These structural modifications have the following effects on the hydration of the native enzyme.The water binding capacity of the protein surface is significantly increased, as shown by both the calorimetric and the sorption results. The amount of unfreezable water of primary hydration is increased by 50 mol H2O/mol chymotrypsin.The heats (ΔH) and entropies (ΔS) of the interaction of water with chymotrypsin are strongly reduced in the modified enzyme. This effect is interpretable by a reduction of the H bonding potential of the protein surface. Parallel to this decrease in δH, the heats of fusion of the secondary hydration water (Qfus) are significantly increased by tosylation (Qfus = 256.2 ± 7.8 and 294.2 ± 4.8 J g-1 H2O for the native and the tosylated enzyme, respectively). This increase in Qfus reflects an increase in the extent of H bonding in the B-shell hydration sphere.These changes in the hydration of the native enzyme, associated with the reaction: native chymotrypsin → tosylchymotrypsin, are interpreted by cooperative phase transitions of water molecules in the primary and secondary hydration water. One of these transitions was found to exhibit a significant, linear enthalpy-entropy compensation effect. The compensation temperature \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \hat{\beta} $\end{document} is 290.7 ± 2.8°K. This \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \hat{\beta} $\end{document} value agrees well with compensation temperatures reported in the literature for a series of biochemical reactions in aqueous solution (250-320° K). This agreement in \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \hat{\beta} $\end{document} may point to a common source of both compensation phenomena.

Notes: The conformations of melanostatin have been studied experimentally using CD spectroscopy and via calculations. In aqueous solution and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) there is no evidence that monomers of the tripeptide exist in an ordered (β-bend) structure. In water and TFE solutions (3-6 × 10-4M) the neutral molecules aggregate very slowly, taking about 3 days to attain equilibrium at room temperature. At equivalent concentrations in TFE, although not in water, the cationic molecules also slowly aggregate, although to a lesser extent. Calculations using rotational isomeric state theory give the most probable unperturbed end-to-end distance of the molecule at 9.3 ± 0.1 Å and indicate that a vast majority of the molecules exist in some extended conformation, end-to-end distance ≥6 Å. Only 0.4% of the molecules are calculated to have O…H separations compatible with a β-bend structure. An intramolecular hydrogen bond must have an energy at least 2 kcal/mol lower than that of an intermolecular hydrogen bond to solvent if a β-bend is to be experimentally observable.

Notes: Nps-[Glu(OBzl)]6-NHEt has been prepared by coupling Nps-[Glu(OBzl)]2-OH with HCl,H-[Glu(OBzl)]4-NHEt by means of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. The ir spectra of its nujol mull show that the hexapeptide has the β-structure of antiparallel chains. When it is dissolved in dioxane or ethylene dichloride, the hexapeptide consists of a mixture of the β-form and the solvated σ-form, but the β-form can exist only above a certain critical concentration. The critical concentration is about 0.4g dl-1 in dioxane and 0.08g dl-1 in ethylene dichloride, and the content of β-form increases with increasing concentration above it. The CD of the dioxane and ethylene dichloride solutions shows concentration dependence in visible and uv regions.

Notes: Light scattering from the solutions of Nps-[Glu(OBzl)]6-NHEt in dioxane or ethylene dichloride has been measured at different concentrations, and a critical concentration of intermolecular association is found to exist, which is equal to the critical concentration of β-form formation. The Debye plot of light scattering leads to the molecular weight of aggregates at the critical concentration, which corresponds to an aggregation number 15 in dioxane and 53 in ethylene dichloride. In the latter solvent the aggregates further associate into a larger aggregate consisting of 330 molecules when the concentration is increased beyond the critical concentration. The content of β-form, which is a measure of number of hydrogen bonds, is derived from the ir data previously obtained. The results on the modes of intermolecular association and hydrogen bonding lead to possible structures of aggregates formed by both hydrogen bonds and other nonbonding side-chain interactions.

Notes: Low shear viscosities have been determined for a 1 mg/ml poly(L-lysine) solution as a function of added salt concentration in the region of the previously reported ordinary-extraordinary phase transition. The measured viscosities indicate that the polyions are far from completely extended at the transition. Estimates of the longest internal relaxation time for an equivalent free-draining Rouse-Zimm chain give τ ≃ 10-5 sec, similar to that of the rapid, angle-independent component previously observed in the dynamic light-scattering correlation function at the transition. An unusual peak and valley are observed in the curve of [η]0 versus [NaBr] in the transition region. Possible interpretations of these features, and their bearing on the nature of the extraordinary phase, are discussed.

Notes: The crystal structure of the valinomycin analog, cyclo-[(-D-Val-Hyi-Val-D-Hyi-)3-] (meso-valinomycin, C60H102N6O18) has been determined by direct x-ray diffraction procedures. The crystals are triclinic, space group P1, number of molecules per unit cell Z = 1, and cell parameters a = 11.831, b = 13.815, c = 14.889 Å, α = 109.54°, β = 116.10°, γ = 98.89°. The atomic coordinates for the C,N,O atoms were refined in the anisotropic thermal motion approximation and for the H atoms in the isotropic approximation to R = 0.07.The structure is centrosymmetric and has a threefold axis of pseudosymmetry. The depsipeptide chain is in the form of a bracelet stabilized by six identical intramolecular 4 → 1 hydrogen bonds between the amide C=O and NH groups. The ester carbonyls are oriented towards the symmetry axis, their O atoms forming an ellipsoidal molecular cavity. The isopropyl side chains are located on the molecular periphery. The structure found differs considerably from the conformation of the crystalline naturally occurring antibiotic, valinomycin, but completely resembles that of valinomycin and meso-valinomycin in nonpolar solvents. In the crystal, meso-valinomycin molecules form stacks. The molecular cavities situated in the stacks one above the other along the pseudo-C3 axis form a continuous channel, the internal surface of which is lined by O atoms. The possible conformations of depsipeptides of the valinomycin series and their mode of action in membranes are discussed in the light of the data obtained.

Notes: Large molecular weight bacteriophage G DNA, about five times larger than T2 DNA, was used to test Zimm's theory [(1974) Biophys. Chem. 1, 279-291] for the effect of rotor speed on the sedimentation of large linear monodisperse DNA. Sedimentation profiles from neutral sucrose gradinets at low and high rotor speeds show G DNA sedimenting from 1.8 to 0.7 times as fast as T2 DNA. Experimental measurements indicate that the sedimentation coefficient of G DNA decreases with increasing rotor speed about as fast as predicted by theory.

Notes: We have examined the NH stretching frequencies of N-acetyl-N′-methyl-L-alanineamide (blocked Ala), N-acetyl-N′-methylglycineamide (block Gly), and N-acetyl-N′-methyl-L-leucineamide (blocked Leu) in chloroform using irspectroscopy. Their spectrum of blocked Leu in carbon tetrachloride was also obtained. A major absorption band at 3450 cm-1 is attributed to the unperturbed NH stretching frequency. Another major band at 3437 cm-1 (for Ala) or 3432 cm-1 (for Leu) is attributed to conformations in which the NH stretching frequency is perturbed by the spatial proximity of the Cβ atom. An absorption band between 3300 and 3370 cm-1, which has in the past been assigned to the intramolecular hydrogen-bonded NH in the C7eq conformation, was found to be concentration dependent and could not be observed below 5 × 10-4M in chloroform; thus we find no evidence for a strongly hydrogen-bonded NH in the C7eq conformation in chloroform. An absorption band at 3416 cm-1 was observed in chloroform solutions of blocked Gly, and a similar absorption appeared as a shoulder on the 3437- and 3432-cm-1 bands of blocked Ala and blocked Leu, respectively, in the same solvent. These bands, occurring near 3416 cm-1, may be assigned to extended (C5) conformations [Avignon et al., Biopolymers 8, 69 (1969)]. In CCl4 the spectrum of blocked Leu remained concentration dependent below 2.8 × 10-4M, with the 3300-3370-cm-1 band progressively weakening and shifting to higher frequencies on dilution from higher concentrations. Analysis of the spectra indicates that there is considerable flexibility in the blocked single residues, in agreement with the results of conformational energy calculations.

Notes: Type I collagen fibrillogenesis in vitro has been studied by laser light scattering, and the results indicate that initiation of aggregation involves at least two steps. Step I of aggregation involves no change in the intensity of scattered light at an angle of 90° and is accompanied by a decrease in the diffusion coefficient. Step II is characterized by an increased intensity of scattered light and decreased diffusion coefficients. Theoretical calculations using the Stokes-Einstein equation for the translational diffusion coefficient and the Perrin equation for the frictional coefficient of a prolate ellipsoid indicate that the step I aggregates are 4D staggered linear dimers and trimers 570 and 845 nm long, whereas step II aggregates are greater than 950 nm in length. These dimensions are similar to those previously reported based on physicochemical measurements and electron microscopy. It is proposed that the rate and extent of fibrillogenesis in vitro is controlled by the concentration of the linear aggregates and that the effects of temperature and collagen concentration on fibrillogenesis previously observed are qualitatively explained in terms of their effects on the concentration of these aggregates.

Notes: The method hitherto used for estimating the electrostatic term in empirical intramolecular calculations of stable conformations of biologically important molecules and macromolecules and intermolecular calculations of molecular associations or packing energy in molecular crystals had been analyzed. It has been shown that the contribution of atomic hybridization moments is omitted in the calculation of electrostatic interactions from net atomic charges localized on nuclei which have been determined by standard quantum-chemical methods. This contribution plays an important part in determining electrostatic interactions, mainly in molecules containing atoms with lone pairs. Simultaneously, a modified method for calculating the electrostatic term comprising the interaction of the lone pairs, which are represented by atomic hybridization moments, has been proposed. The relationship between the atomic hybridization moment and the bond angle has been expressed for some typical configurations occurring in biologically important molecules. Finally, this new approach is illustrated by results of the conformational analysis of some model compounds for biomolecules and compared with the approach used so far for the estimation of the electrostatic interaction in empirical methods of calculation of the intra- and intermolecular energy.

Notes: Intensity fluctuations of laser light scattered from filamentous viruses Pf1 [length L (Å) × diameter d (Å) = 20,000 × 90], M13 (9000 × 90), potato virus X (5150 × 130), and tobacco mosaic virus (3000 × 180) in sucrose density gradients were measured with a photon correlation spectrometer over a range of scattering angles from 15° to 120°. The experimental data can be approximated by two exponential decays, “slow” and “fast.” The slow decay rate constant ts-1 corresponds to the translational diffusion D of the virus, i.e., ts-1 = K2D, where K is the magnitude of the scattering vector. The amplitude of the slow component, i.e., translational diffusion, remains greater than that of the fast component, even at high KL. The fast decay rate constant tf-1 is also proportional to K2 for viruses such as Pf1, M13, and even potato virus X. In the companion paper, we shall attribute the amplitude enhancement of the translational diffusion to the coupling of its anisotropy to the rotational diffusion modes. In order to explain the excessive decay rates in the fast component, we need to consider the bending mode of rodlike viruses, especially in the longer viruses such as M13 and Pf1, in addition to the usually expected rotational diffusion modes.

Notes: We have compared four theoretical effects of rodlike macromolecules with the fast components, i.e., components other than translational diffusion, of our experimental data, which are presented as amplitude autocorrelation functions of electric field scattered from dilute solutions of monodisperse rodlike viruses with lengths from 3300 Å for tobacco mosaic virus to 20,000 Å for Pf1. The four effects are (1) the optic anisotropy treated by Aragón and Pecora, (2) coupled translational-rotational diffusion due to anisotropy in translational mobility recently reformulated by Gierke, (3) anisotropic rotational diffusion with respect to the direction of translational displacement first discussed by Berne and Pecora, and (4) the bending mode of a rod by Fujime and Maruyama. We show that both the first and second effects are required to explain the enhancement of amplitude of the translational diffusion at the expense of fast components. The experimental decay rates of the fast component exceed that of the rotational diffusions. In order to explain the excessive decay rate in the fast component, we need to include a minute amount (∼1%) of bending mode of rodlike viruses, especially in longer viruses such as M13 and Pf1.

Notes: The previous report that poly(L-glutamic acid) exhibits doubled resonances in the helix-coil transition region by either proton or carbon-13 nmr resolves the question of whether or not this behavior is limited to uncharged polypeptides in organic solvents, as had been previously thought. In the present work, we show that the underlying principle causing this anomalous double-peak behavior is due to molecular-weight polydispersity of the sample. The molecular-weight range in which this phenomenon is observed is largely dependent on the values of σ, the nucleation or cooperativity factor. The principles developed are shown to encompass all classes of polypeptides in a very natural way and to explain the key experimental data in the literature.

Notes: Empirical conformational energy calculations with the use of ECEPP energy functions have been carried out for linear dipeptides H-X-L-Pro-OH, with X = Gly, L-Ala, D-Ala, L-Leu, D-Leu, L-Phe, and D-Phe, in different states of protonation of the end groups. The results of these calculations are compared with the previously reported experimental equilibrium populations for the cis and trans isomers of the X-Pro bond in the different species. For all the protonation states of the seven dipeptides, the calculated nonbonded interactions and the conformational entropy term lead to a preference of the trans forms over the cis isomers by at least 1 kcal/mol. The electrostatic interactions stabilize the cis conformations in all species except the cationic forms of the D,L-peptides, and it could further be shown that only the carbonyl group of X and the two end groups contribute significantly to the total electrostatic energy. One of the principal results of the experimental studies, i.e., the occurrence of 5-15% cis-proline in all the peptides with an uncharged C-terminus, was corroborated by our investigation of the cationic species. A detailed assessment of the electrostatic contribution to the total energy of the different conformations of H-Gly-L-Pro-OH indicates that the standard ECEPP parameters tend to overestimate the electrostatic interactions in aqueous solutions of the X-Pro dipeptides.

Notes: The secondary structure of the lac repressor protein proposed by Chou et al. has been modified to include the recent revisions in sequence. In addition to the Chou and Fasman method, five other methods were used; they include those of (1) Lim, (2) Ptitsyn and Finkelstein, (3) Burgess et al., (4) Bunting et al., and (5) Wu and Kabat. Any two individual methods gave results differing sharply from one another. Three or more methods were in agreement for 91, 39, and 126 residues in helix, in β, and in combined coil plus turn conformations, respectively; there were such agreements for a total of 256 of the 360 residues. Agreements in the amino-terminal third of the molecule were found for 68% of the residues, whereas in the remainder of the molecule only 53% of the residues showed such agreements. Only two helix-breaking and two β-breaking tripeptides were inconsistent with the composite predictions by three or more methods. The large number of disagreements among the results for different methods indicates that only very limited information is provided by each method and that the basis on which they operate is not clear. There is no a priori reason for a composite prediction to be more reliable than any individual prediction, and such a procedure does not permit the determination of an unambiguous secondary structure. Since these methods were applied to lac repressor before any three-dimensional crystallographic structure was known, the methods may ultimately be evaluated should such a structure become available.

Notes: The conformational changes and binding behavior of tetranactin on complexation with sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and ammonium ions were investigated by the measurements of proton magnetic resonance, ir, and Raman spectra. It has been clearly shown that alkali cations coordinate to the oxygen atoms of both the carbonyl group and the tetra-hydrofuran ring, but the ammonium ion coordinates only to the oxygen atom of the tetrahydrofuran. Among the alkali cations the potassium ion most strongly coordinates to the tetrahydrofuran oxygen atoms. The complexation with larger cations induces an expansion of the cavity of the macrocyclic ring of tetranactin and smaller cations contract the cavity. The evidence is revealed by the coupling constants of the methylene protons and the frequency separation between the carbonyl stretching vibrations of the ir- and Raman-active modes. The conformations of the cation complexes in the solid are maintained in solution but that of the cation free form is not.

Notes: Intercalation-site geometries are generated for a tetramer duplex extracted from B-DNA. Glycosidic angles and puckers of the deoxyribose sugar groups bonded to base pairs BP1 and BP4, namely, those at either end of the tetramer duplex, are assumed to be those of B-DNA to insure continuity. All possible geometrical conformations for combinations of C(2′)-endo, C(3′)-endo, C(2′)-exo, and C(3′)-exo sugar puckers are determined for the tetranucleotide backbone. Those with minimum energy are selected as candidates for intercalation sites. Calculations reveal two pairs of physically meaningful families of intercalation sites which occur in two distinct regions, I and II, of helical angles which orient BP2 relative to BP3 and with the helical axis disjointed between these base pairs. For each site I and II within BP2 and BP3, there are two distinct backbone conformations, A and B, connecting BP3 to BP4 or BP1 to BP2 which do not disrupt backbone conformations connecting BP2 to BP3. Hence two pairs, IA and IB, and IIA and IIB, of intercalation sites exist in which the sugar puckers along the backbone of the tetramer alternate from C(2′)-endo to C(3′)-endo on the backbone (5′p3′) connecting BP2 to BP3. The glycosidic angles of the C(3′)-endo sugar χ3γ are, coincidentally, 80° ± 2° for both conformations γ = A and B connecting BP3 to BP4 along the phosphate backbone (5′p3′). Consistent with the theoretical results, the experimental unwinding angles can be grouped into two categories with absolute values of 18° and 26°. The theoretical unwinding angles for sites IA and IB of 16° and for sites IIA and IIB of 20° occur for a displacement of -0.8 Å in the helical axes of BP2 and BP3 and for a 100% G·C composition, with a decrease depending on the amount of A·T base pairs present. Ratios of theoretical unwinding angles of sites I and II, which range from 0.75 to 0.84 for the two principal sites, compare well with the experimental value of 0.71. The theoretical results, in agreement with experimental observation, provide a new interpretation of the nature and conformation of the possible binding sites. Conformations obtained from these studies of intercalation sites in a tetramer duplex are used to rationalize the well-known neighbor-exclusion principle. The possibility of violation of this principle is demonstrated by the existence of two families of physically meaningful conformations. Conformations of unconstrained dimer duplexes are also obtained, one of which corresponds to the experimental crystal structure of ethidium-dinucleoside complexes, but these cannot be joined to the B-DNA structure. Backbone conformations of the tetramer duplex can be constructed until the base-pair separation reaches 8.25 Å, which may limit the molecules that can intercalate.

Notes: As a continuation of previous papers [Biopolymers (1976) 15, 879; (1978) 17, 1508], the low-frequency dielectric relaxation of DNA solutions was studied with a four-electrode cell and the simultaneous two-frequency measurement. Below a critical concentration, the dielectric relaxation time agrees with the rotational relaxation time estimated from the reduced viscosity and is almost independent of DNA concentration Cp, and the dielectric increment is proportional to Cp. The critical concentration is approximately 0.02% of DNA for molecular weight Mr 2 × 106 and 0.2% for Mr 4.5 × 105 in 1 mM NaCl. Dielectric relaxations are compared for samples before and after deproteinization, and the protein contamination is found to have a minor effect on the dipole moment of DNA. The effect of a mixed solvent of water and ethanol on the dielectric relaxation of DNA is well interpreted in terms of changes in viscosity and the dielectric constant of the solvent, assuming that the relaxation arises from rotation of the molecule with a quasi-permanent dipole due to counterion fluctuation.

Notes: Conformational energies of α- and β-D-glucopyranoses were computed by varying all the ring bond angles and torsional angles using semiempirical potential functions. Solvent accessibility calculations were also performed to obtain a measure of solvent interaction.The results indicate that the 4C1 (D) chair is the most favored conformation, both by potential energy and solvent accessibility criteria. The 4C1 (D) chair conformation is also found to be somewhat flexible, being able to accommodate variations up to 10° in the ring torsional angles without appreciable change in energy. Observed solid-state conformations of these sugars and their derivatives lie in the minimum-energy region, suggesting that the substituents and crystal field forces play a minor role in influencing the pyranose ring conformation. Theory also predicts the variations in the ring torsional angles, i.e., CCCC 〈 CCCO 〈 CCOC, in agreement with the experimental results. The boat and twist-boat conformations are found to be at least 5 kcal mol-1 higher in energy compared to the 4C1 (D) chair, suggesting that these forms are unlikely to be present in a polysaccharide chain. The 1C4 (D) chair has energy intermediate between that of the 4C1 (D) chair and that of the twist-boat conformation. The calculated energy barrier between 4C1 (D) and 1C4 (D) conformations is high - about 11 kcal mol-1.

Notes: Earlier determinations of density gradient proportionality constants β0, density distributions ρ(r), and the effect of pressure on density gradients in the analytical ultracentrifuge have been of limited precision and usefulness in the study of proteins and polypeptides. Reasons for these difficulties are that numerous intermediate relationships were required in the calculations, and the density ranges studied were generally above 1.2 g/ml. Relations are derived in the present paper to directly compute β0(ρ) values and β0′(ρ) values from the original data without any intermediate expansions or approximations. Data are presented for CsCl, CsBr, and Cs2SO4 and compared with literature values. Density distributions are computed for all three salts under a wide variety of experimental conditions of density, column length, and angular velocity. These values of ρ(r) and re are obtained by a numerical iterative technique. Values obtained by this new method are compared with values obtained using closed-form expressions. The effects of pressure on the composition density gradient for the three salts given above are calculated and found to be significant for Cs2SO4 solutions.

Notes: We present evidence for structures of two ordered forms of polyxanthylic acid based on ir spectroscopy, pH titrations, and thermal transitions. Over the pH range ∼6-9.5, the structure is a four-stranded helix with alkali metal ions specifically complexed in the central channel. These internal counterions stabilize the structure by complexing with carbonyl oxygens and by partial screening of electrostatic repulsion caused by ionization of the xanthine residues in this pH range. Below pH 5, the structure is quite different and much more stable. Our data are consistent with a six-stranded helix in which both carbonyl oxygens and both NH protons are hydrogen bonded.

Notes: Die Rheinanliegerstaaten haben im gemeinsamen Bemühen um die Qualität des Rheinwassers schon 1963 die „Internationale Kommission zum Schutze des Rheins gegen Verunreinigung“ (IKSR) ins Leben gerufen. Die IKSR überwacht die Wasserqualität und gibt einen jährlichen Bericht mit Analysendaten heraus. Außerdem erarbeitet sie Vorschläge für Maßnahmen zum Schutze des Stroms. In Ergänzung der jeweiligen nationalen Gewässerschutzmaßnahmen haben die Rheinanliegerstaaten 1976 das Übereinkommen zum Schutze des Rheins gegen chemische Verunreinigung (Chemieabkommen) abgeschlossen. Das Chemieakbkommen, durch das die Ableitung bestimmter gefährlicher Stoffe aus den Stoffgruppen und -familien: Queck-silber- und Cadmiumverbindungen, organische Halogen-, Phosphor- und Zinnverbin-dungen, cancerogene Stoffe so weit wie möglich verhindert und aus weiteren Stoffgruppen und -familien, darunter den meisten Metallen, streng überwacht und eingeschränkt werden soll, hat einen langfristigen präventiven Charakter. Das Chloridabkommen soll dagegen sofort zu Maßnahmen führen. Zu diesen Abkommen der Rheinanliegerstaaten treten eine Reihe weiterer internationaler Abkommen und Vereinbarungen mit Auswirkungen auf den Rhein, verschiedene Richtlinien der Europäischen Gemeinschaft, ein geplantes Abkommen der Länder im Europarat, ein Abkommen zum Schutze der Nordsee und des Nordatlantiks gegen die Verschmutzung vom Lande aus.

Notes: Dies ist Teil I einer zweiteiligen Aufsatzfolge. Teil II wird „Neuentwicklungen der Düngemittelforschung“ behandeln und im nächsten Heft erscheinen.

Notes: We have measured the ultraviolet CD spectra for covalently closed and linear forms of phage PM2 DNA in solution. We find that increased concentrations of salt or ethanol (up to 50% ethanol by weight) depress the long-wavelength positive CD bands in the spectra of both forms of DNA, although the spectrum of the native covalently closed DNA always has a slightly larger magnitude of these bands than does the spectrum of the linear DNA. In addition, both DNAs are equally capable of undergoing a transition to the A conformation in 70-80% ethanol at low Na+ concentrations. Thus, the constraint imposed by the covalent closure of a DNA molecule does not seem to hinder its conformational response to these changing solution conditions. Lang [(1973) J. Mol. Biol. 78, 247-254] has found by electron microscopy that T7 DNA has an inherent ability to condense into compact particles, suggested to be supercoils of multiple order. Both covalently closed and linear forms of PM2 DNA also become condensed when the DNA, in 0.2M ammonium acetate and 1 mM EDTA, is exposed to ethanol and subsequent drying on specimen grids [Lang, D., Taylor, T. N., Dobyan, D. C. & Gray, D. M. (1976) J. Mol. Biol. 106, 97-107]. Under similar conditions, in solutions of 0.2M ammonium acetate and 1 mM EDTA to which ethanol is added, we have measured the CD spectra of both covalently closed and linear forms of DNA. Below ethanol concentrations at which the DNA obviously precipitates, the CD spectra of both forms have reduced long-wavelength positive CD bands.

Notes: The polymeric cobalt(II) porphyrin complexes were prepared from cobalt(II) protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester(Co(II)P) and copolymers of 4-vinylpyridine and styrene(PSP), and their binding ability of molecular oxygen was studied in toluene solution. The five- and six-coordinate structure of CoP-PSP complexes were confirmed by esr spectra. The esr parameters for the CoP-PSP complexes were not affected by the molecular weight and the vinylpyridine-unit content of PSP-ligand. The 1:1 dioxygen-Co complex was reversibly formed when the solution of CoP-PSP was exposed to oxygen atmosphere at low temperature. While the visible spectra and esr parameters for the dioxygen complexes of CoP-PSP were the same as those of the CoP-pyridine complex, the equilibrium constant for the oxygen binding increased with the vinylpyridine-unit content of the PSP-ligand. The larger entropy change was observed for the oxygenation in the CoP-PSP system especially, of which the vinylpyridine-unit content was large.

Notes: The low-temperature dynamic mechanical relaxation of ox Ligamentum nuchae elastin, swollen with water and ethylene glycol at various swelling ratios, has been investigated by means of the Rheovibron DDV II viscoelastometer, at frequencies from 3.5 to 110 Hz. The peak location on the temperature scale, its intensity and activation energy have been studied as a function of solvent content and it has been found that the two solvents influence the dynamic mechanical behavior in a quite different way. A similar interaction of the solvent molecules with the backbone peptide groups is assumed for both solvents, and the differences in the mechanical spectra, which are more marked the higher the solvation degree, are explained in terms of the different size of the protein-solvent relaxing units.

Notes: The relation between the chemical structure of a protein and the physical properties of a heat-set gel of that protein has been investigated. The physical properties of the gel are determined by means of mechanical experiments in which the viscoelastic properties of the gel are determined in terms of the storage shear modulus, the loss modulus and the stress-strain curve. The storage shear modulus defined the solid (elastic) character of the gel. The chemical structure of the protein and the nature of the solvent determine the nature and number of cross-links in the gel. The cross-links in gels formed by heating concentrated solutions of ovalbumin in 6M urea solutions were found to be disulfide bridges and the mechanical properties of these ovalbumin/urea gels approximated those of an ideal rubber. The latter finding enables one to calculate the number of cross-links per ovalbumin molecule from the value of the storage modulus, using the classical theory of rubber elasticity. This theory, together with the Flory-Huggins lattice model, can also be used to calculate the number of cros-links per ovalbumin molecule from the swelling behavior of ovalbumin/urea gels. The number of cross-links per ovalbumin molecule calculated from these two types of experiments are in mutual agreement and correspond with the number of thiol groups in ovalbumin. We conclude, thereforee, that theories of polymer physics can be used to relate the chemical structure of a protein to the physical properties of its gel.

Notes: The single-strand helix-coil transition in various oligo- and polyadenylates is characterized by means of an improved cable temperature-jump technique. In all the polymers studied {poly(rA), poly(dA), poly[A(m2′)] and poly[A(e2′)]} helix-coil relaxation is observed in the time range from 30 to 1000 nsec. Relaxation-time constants observed at wavelengths λ〈280 nm (τα) are different from those found at λ 〉280 nm (τβ), indicating the presence of more than two conformational states. The time constants τα increase in the series poly(dA), poly[A(m2′)], constants τβ/τα is approximately 2.5, except in poly(dA) where τβ/τα ≈ 9. Relaxation measurements with r(A)n- oligomers show a decrease in conformational mobility with increasing chain length. The relaxation curves also demonstrate that “internal” residues have lower reaction rates than residues at the ends of the oligomer chain. Measurement in D2O reveal a solvent isotope effect for τα of +87% for poly(rA), and of +53% for poly(dA), whereas no isotope effect is found in τβ. The absence of “slow” relaxation processes in the model compound 9,9′ -trimethylenebisadenine shows that the relatively low rate of the single-strand helix-coil transitions is due to the coupling of base stacking with the folding of the sugar-phosphate chain. The absence of a seprate relaxation process (corresponding to τβ) in 9,9′-trimethylenebisadenine, as well as in the dinucleotides ApC and CpA, suggests that this relaxation process is dependent upon the presence of both the sugar-phosphate chain and of adjacent adenine bases. The experimental data provide evidence that there is more than one ordered conformation in various single-stranded oligo- and polyadenylates and that the transition between these conformations is influenced by the sugar conformation.

Notes: An algorithm has been developed that permits one to find all possible conformations of the sugar-phosphate backbone for any given disposition of DNA base pairs. For each of the conformations thus obtained, the energy of the helix was calculated by the method of atom-atom potentials. Several isolated regions in the space of the bases′ parameters (Arnott's parameters) have been found for energetically favorable helical structures. Two parameters, the distance of a base pair from the helix axis, D, and the windling angle, τ, allow one to subdivide possible conformations into the families of closely related forms. Two regions (ravines) on the (D, τ) map correspond to the know A and B families. In the B family a continuous transition has been obtained in which the double helix undergoes increasing winding, while the base pairs are moving toward the major (nonglycosidic) groove.Interrelationships between the variables, characterizing the spatial structure of the double helix, D, τ, TL and χ, when going along the bottom of the B ravine, were also obtained.Besides the Known A and B families, several new ones were found to be energetically possible. Among these the strongly underwound helices with the negative D values, as well as the forms with the C4-C5 angle in a trans position, should be mentioned.Biological roles of the different double-stranded conformations, in particular, in protein-nuclei acid interaction are discussed.