[The structural characteristics of the polyribosomes in the rat liver studied by means of a tritium label]. / Osobennosti struktury poliribosom pecheni krys, izuchennye metodom tritievoi metki.

Polyribosomes isolated from the rat liver in a medium with low ionic strength were irradiated by "hot" tritium atoms under conditions providing for the replacement of the hydrogen atoms located at the surface of polyribosomes by tritium. After fractionation of such polyribosomes, the radioactivity of the obtained fractions was measured and their proportions were calculated for the total surface accessible for the tritium atoms (in %), as well as their specific radioactivity. The material loosely associated with the polyribosomes and containing amino acyl-tRNA-synthetases is more radioactive than rRNA and r-proteins, especially concerning their specific radioactivity. This suggests that the material is organized as individual molecules located on the surface of ribosomes. The specific radioactivity of the RNA-component of this material (tRNA) is twice that of proteins, thus suggesting its surface localization in the composition of loosely associated material. Based on the pattern of labeling of rRNA and r-proteins of the native and preliminarily dissociated polyribosomes, we propose that the material, loosely associated with the polyribosomes, has affinity to both rRNA and r-proteins.

Electron microscopy of the Mo-Fe-protein from Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase.

The quaternary structure of the Mo-Fe-protein from Azotobacter vinelandii has been studied by electron microscopy. A model of the molecule of the Mo-Fe-protein has been proposed: two alpha subunits are displaced relative to two beta subunits along a twofold axis, so the molecule can be characterized by the point-group pseudosymmetry 222. Computer averaging of the images showed that one of the projections of the molecule could be characterized by twofold rotational symmetry. Micrographs of nitrogenase recombined complex (Mo-Fe-protein + Fe-protein) have been obtained. They showed particles close in size and form to the Mo-Fe-protein molecule. Therefore, it has been proposed that the Fe-protein could be situated in the central cavity of Mo-Fe-protein.

[Study of the amino acid residue topography of the adenosine triphosphatase center of (Ca--Mg)-dependent sarcoplasmic reticulum adenosine triphosphatase by kinetic and spectral methods]. / Issledovanie topografii aminokislotnykh ostatokov adenozintrifosfataznogo tsentra (Ca--Mg)-zavisimoi adenozintrifosfatazy sarkoplazmaticheskogo retikuluma kineticheskimi i spektral'nymi metodami.

The topography of HS- and NH2-groups and tryptophane residues in ATPase centre of (Ca--Mg)-ATPase on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was investigated by kinetics, electron spectroscopy and spectrofluorimetry method. Both o-phthalaldehyde interacting with lysine or arginine residue or with end amino acid and fluorescein dimercuric acetate interaction with cysteine residue of HS-groups make (Ca--Mg)-ATPase both in SR and the pure enzyme completely inactive at molar ratio enzyme: inhibitor equal to 1 : 1. A 500 molar ATP surplus reduces drastically the enzyme inactivation rate by both inhibitors. The data supplied by the spectrofluorimetry and the induction-resonance theory were used to calculate the distances between nearest tryptophane residues and chromophore (o-FTC) generated by o-phthalaldehyde interaction with NH2-group the protein amino acid residue (17 A) and o-FTC and fluorescein dimercuric acetate (19 A) attached to enzyme HS-group. Because o-FTC is inside the protein pocket it is not accessible to J- ions up to 2.5 M KJ. However some tryptophane resudies and fluorescein dimercuric acetate attached to HS-group are near to the macromolecule surface. Lysine (or arginine residues) or end amino acid NH2-group and cysteine residues HS-group, and some tryptophane residues are at ATPase centre of (Ca--Mg)-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum. Possible topography of the centre is discussed.

[Estimation of the distance between the iron-sulfur cluster of Fe-protein and the nearest iron-sulfur cluster of Mo-Fe-protein of nitrogenase on the basis of the inductive-resonance theory of energy transfer]. / Otsenka rasstoianiia mezhdu zhelezo-sernym klasterom FE-belka i blizhaishim zhelezo-sernym klasterom Mo-Fe-belka nitrogenazy na osnovanii teorii induktivno-rezonansnogo perenosa énergii.

The distance between fluorescein mercuric acetate (FMA), attached to the HS-group of Fe- and Mo-Fe-protein, and the nearest iron-sulphur cluster (ISC) was determined. For Fe-protein the distance was 18--20 A and for Mo-Fe-protein 12--14 A. The distance between Fe-protein FMA and the nearest Mo-protein ISC determined by complementation of the labelled Fe-protein and native Mo-Fe-protein was 14--16 A. The distance between MO-OFe-protein ISC and complement Fe-protein ISC was 18--20 A. A te-protein ISC permitted to suppose that the electron was transfered from Fe-protein ISC to Mo-Fe-protein ISC by the contact of the ISC or with the help of ATP molecule.

[Investigation of the structure of nitrogenase by means of electron microscopy combined with optical diffraction]. / Issledovanie struktury nitrogenazy metodom elektronnoi mikroskopii i opticheskoi difraktsii.

Nitrogenase molecules are observed in electron micrographs as hepta or octa hedral rings about 100 angstrom in diameter and stick-like particle 95 angstrom wide and as long as 300 angstrom and more. The electron microscopy pattern was investigated by the optical diffraction technique. It is shown that the nitrogenase molecule has a cylindrical helical structure. The helical parameters of this structure have been determined. The molecule is composed of a family of discrete helixes (number of helixes 8), the spacing between the nearest subunits along the vertical axis being 25 angstrom and the period of the structure about 50 angstrom. It is supposed that the stick-like particle as a side-view projection of the polymerized round molecules. A hypothetic model of the protein is presented.