Mutagenesis of Bacteriophage Ike Major Coat Protein Transmembrane Domain: Role of an Interfacial Proline Residue

Abstract

The transmembrane (TM) domain of the 53-residue major coat protein of the M13-related bacteriophage IKe (residues 24-42: LISQTWPVVTTVVVAGVLI) has been subjected to randomized mutagenesis to probe the conformation and stability of the TM domain, as well as the effect of structurally-important residues such as proline. TM mutants were obtained by the Eckstein method of site-directed mutagenesis using the IKe genome as template so as to eliminate the need for subcloning. Over 40 single- and double-site viable mutants of bacteriophage IKe were isolated. Every residue in the TM segment, except the highly conserved Trp 29, could be mutated to at least one other residue; polar and charged mutations occurred in the TM segment adjacent to the N-terminal domain (residues 24-28), while non-polar substitutions predominated in the C-terminal portion (residues 30-42). The Pro 30 locus tolerated four mutations - Ala, Gly, Cys, and Ser - which represent the four side chains of least volume. Mutant coat proteins obtained directly from the phage in milligram quantities were studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy and SDS-PAGE gels. Wild type IKe coat protein solubilized in sodium deoxycholate micelles was found to occur as an α-helical, monomeric species which is stable at 95°C, whereas the mutant Pro 30 → Gly undergoes an irreversible conformational transition at ca. 90°C to an aggregated β-sheet structure. The result that Pro 30 stabilizes the TM helix in the micellar membrane suggests a sterically-restricted location for the wild type Pro pyrrolidine side chain in the bulky Trp-Pro-Val triad, where it may be positioned to direct the initiation of the subsequent TM core domain helix.