Cold Adaptation of Tropomyosin

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The conformational stability of unphosphorylated and phosphorylated α,α-striated tropomyosins from rabbit and shark (95% identical sequences) has been investigated. Three additional core positions are occupied by atypical amino acids in the protein from shark: Thr179(d), Ser190(a), and Ser211(a). These changes are thought to have further destabilized most, if not all, of the carboxyl-terminal half of the molecule. Heat-induced unfolding of shark tropomyosin (2 mg/mL, 0.1 M salt, pH 7) as monitored by far-UV circular dichroism is biphasic [T(m1) ∼ 33 °C (main), and T(m2) ∼ 54 °C] and takes place over a wider temperature span than that of the mammalian protein. The relationship between ellipticity (and excess heat) and temperature is insensitive to the presence in either tropomyosin of covalently bound phosphate. At ∼10 mg/mL, the minor endotherm of shark tropomyosin is shifted to ∼60 °C and T(m2) - T(m1) is increased to 25 °C; otherwise, the results of calorimetry are in agreement with those of circular dichroism. Analyses of cyanogen bromide fragments by far-UV circular dichroism and intact protein by near-UV circular dichroism (T(m) ∼ 32 °C) show that the most stable sizable portion of shark tropomyosin is located within the amino-terminal half of the molecule. These findings illuminate those regions in tropomyosin where flexibility is critical and show that substitutions predicted to be unfavorable in one temperature regime are desirable in another.