Phycobiliprotein-bilin linkage diversity. I. Structural studies on A- and D-ring-linked phycocyanobilins.

Phycocyanobilin (PCB) peptides alpha-1 PCB and beta-2T PCB were obtained by proteolytic degradation of Synechococcus 6301 C-phycocyanin. These peptides were found to have the following sequences. alpha-1 PCB Cys(PCB)-Ala-Arg beta-2T PCB Ile-Thr-Gln-Gly-Asp-Cys(PCB)-Ser-Ala. The peptides were examined by 1H NMR, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. The 1H NMR data confirmed that in each case the bilin was attached through a single linkage, a thioether bond between the cysteinyl residue and the tetrapyrrole moiety. Comparison of the 1H NMR spectra of these peptides with those of appropriate model compounds showed that the thioether linkage in alpha-1 PCB was to the C-3' position and that in beta-2T PCB to the C-18' position on the bilin. Refluxing in neutral methanol under nitrogen led to the release of PCB from alpha-1 PCB but did not release the D-ring-linked tetrapyrrole from beta-2T. The above results together with those of an earlier study (Lagarias, J. C., Glazer, A. N., and Rapoport, H. (1979) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 101, 5030-5037) complete the determination of the mode of linkage of each of the three bilins on C-phycocyanin; two are linked through ring A and one through ring D. This is the first documented report of a singly D-ring-linked bilin.

Bilin attachment sites in the alpha and beta subunits of B-phycoerythrin. Structural studies on a doubly peptide-linked phycoerythrobilin.

A bilin-containing fragment of the beta subunit of Porphyridium cruentum B-phycoerythrin produced by cleavage with thermolysin was shown by sequence analysis (Lundell, D.J., Glazer, A.N., DeLange, R.J., and Brown, D.M. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 5472-5480) to have the following structure. (Formula: see text) Secondary ion mass spectrometry of this bilin-peptide yielded a protonated molecular ion of 1629 mass units corresponding to that predicted from the composition of the fragment, and indicated that the heptapeptide is linked to ring A and the tripeptide to ring D. NMR spectra provided definitive evidence for a thioether linkage at the C-3' carbon of ring A and a second thioether linkage at teh C-18' carbon of ring D of the bilin. This is the first documented report of a bilin linked through two thioether linkages to a polypeptide.

Bilin attachment sites in the alpha and beta subunits of B-phycoerythrin. Structural studies on the singly linked phycoerythrobilins.

Five unique phycoerythrobilin (PEB) peptides were prepared from Porphyridium cruentum B-phycoerythrin by a combination of tryptic and thermolytic digestion without alteration in the spectroscopic properties of the bilin (Lundell, D.J., Glazer, A.N., DeLange, R.J., and Brown, D.M. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 5472-5480). alpha-1 Cys(PEB)-Tyr-Arg alpha-2 Leu-Cys(PEB)-Val-Pro-Arg beta-1 Met-Ala-Ala-Cys(PEB)-Leu-Arg beta-2T Phe-Ala-Ala-Gly-Asp-Cys(PEB)-Thr-Ser (Formula: see text) where alpha and beta refer to the subunits from which the peptides were derived High resolution 1H NMR analysis of peptides alpha-2, beta-1, and beta-2T combined with earlier studies of peptide alpha-1 (Schoenleber, R.W., Leung, S.-L., Lundell, D.J., Glazer, A.N., and Rapoport, H. (1983) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 105, 4072-4076) has provided proof that all of the singly linked PEB peptides contain a thioether bond to the 3' position of ring A, and strong evidence in support of a trans-dihydro ring A in each of these chromopeptides. The circular dichroism spectra of the four singly linked PEB peptides show that the configuration at C-16 is R in each instance. The present study coupled with previously reported results on peptide beta-3T (Schoenleber, R.W., Lundell, D.J., Glazer, A.N., Rapoport, H. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 5481-5484 provides the first comprehensive analysis of the structure of all the polypeptide-linked prosthetic groups on the alpha and beta subunits of B-phycoerythrin.