Paracrystalline assemblies of light meromyosins with various chain weights.

Abstract

Paracrystals formed from well defined insoluble fragments of myosin rod: LMM-A, LMM-B, LMM-C, and LMM-D with apparent chain weights of 78 000, 72 000, 68 000, and 56 000, respectively (Nyitray et al., 1983) were studied in the electron microscope with a negative staining technique. All fragments formed tactoids with 14.3 and 43 nm periodicities as well as aperiodic tactoids and sheets. Tactoids and sheets described earlier with a 43 nm periodicity and a pattern of alternating light bands 10 nm wide and dark bands 33 nm wide were observed in LMM-A preparations only. LMM-B and LMM-C formed tactoids with a 43 nm periodicity but without the diversified band pattern. LMM-D formed sheets and tactoids with a newly observed band pattern of alternating light bands 23 nm wide and dark bands 20 nm wide. This pattern can be explained assuming the length of LMM-D molecules to be 66 nm which is fairly consistent with the chain weight of this fragment. A model for molecular arrangement in this type of paracrystal is presented. The model involves both parallel and antiparallel interactions with a parallel axial displacement of the molecules by 43 nm as suggested by Bennett (1981) for paracrystals formed from LMM molecules 90 nm long. It is deduced from the model that LMM-D is shorter than LMM-A by 15 nm at the NH2-terminal end and by 9 nm at the COOH-terminal end. LMM-D, like the other insoluble fragments of myosin rod, is also able to form square and hexagonal nets with an approximately 40 nm distance between lattice points. The structural features of the nets obtained from LMM-D can be explained assuming the same kinds of molecular interactions within the strands of the net as those in the sheets and tactoids with a 43 nm axial repeat. It is concluded that all insoluble fragments of myosin rod are able to form paracrystalline assemblies involving the same types of parallel and antiparallel interactions.