Synthesis of DNA coding for human proinsulin.

A chemical-enzymatic synthesis of 271- and 286-bp DNA duplexes, each of which contains the entire sequence coding for human proinsulin has been accomplished. In addition to the coding sequence, the 271-bp fragment carries translation initiation and termination signals plus EcoRI-HindIII restriction enzyme sites for insertion into an appropriate plasmid vector. The 286-bp fragment also contains a Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence preceding an ATG codon. Employing the 286-bp polynucleotide, the 568-bp tandem proinsulin gene has been obtained. The synthesis of these DNA fragments involved preparation of 42 oligonucleotides by a rapid N-methylimidazolide phosphotriester method and enzymatic conversion of the oligonucleotides into the gene subfragments, which were cloned separately and fused to yield the desired DNAs coding for proinsulin. The proinsulin gene fragments were cloned in Escherichia coli and shown to have the correct sequences.

Amino acid sequence of the oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP) of beef-heart mitochondria and its homology with the delta-subunit of the F1-ATPase of Escherichia coli.

The complete amino acid sequence of the oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP) of beef-heart mitochondria is reported. The protein contains 190 amino acids and has a molecular mass of 20 967. Its structure is characterized by a concentration of charged amino acids in the two terminal segments (N 1-77 and C 128-190) of the protein, whereas its central region is more hydrophobic. The earlier reported homology of the protein with the delta-subunit of E. coli F1, based on the terminal amino acid sequences of OSCP, is further substantiated.

RNA polymerase rifampicin resistance mutations in Escherichia coli: sequence changes and dominance.

Five recombinant plasmids, pBK2646, pBK611, pRC3, pRC4 and pRC5, carrying rpoB rifampicin-resistant RNA-polymerase genes were obtained. The sequence analysis of these plasmids revealed certain structural changes in the rpoB gene which specify corresponding alterations in the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase. Some functional properties of the corresponding mutant strains and their RNA polymerases have been investigated.

The primary structure of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. Nucleotide sequence of the rpoB gene and amino-acid sequence of the beta-subunit.

The combined structural study of proteins and of their corresponding genes utilizing the methods of both protein and nucleotide chemistry greatly accelerates and considerably simplifies both the nucleotide and protein structure determination and, in particular, enhances the reliability of the analysis. This approach has been successfully applied in the primary structure determination of the beta and beta' subunits of Escherichia coli DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and of their structural genes, yielding a continuous nucleotide sequence (4714 base pairs) that embraces the entire rpoB gene, the initial part of the rpoC gene and the intercistronic region, together with the total amino acid sequence of the beta subunit, comprising 1342 residues, and the N-terminal sequence of the beta' subunit (176 residues).

Primary structure of an EcoRI fragment of lambda imm434 DNA containing regions cI-cro of phage 434 and cII-o of phage lambda.

Digestion of phage lambda imm434 DNA with restriction endonuclease EcoRI yields 7 fragments. The shortest among them (1287 bp) contains the right part of the phage 434 immunity region and the phage DNA portion proximal to it. The complete primary structure of this fragment has been determined using the chemical method of DNA sequencing. Hypothetical amino-acid sequences of proteins coded by the cro gene of phage 434 and the cII gene of phage lambda, as well as NH2-terminal amino-acid sequences of the cI protein of phage 434 and the O protein of phage lambda, have been deduced solely on the basis of the DNA sequence. The fragment studied contains also the pR and probably prm promoters and the oR operator of phage 434. The sequence coding for them differs from the respective DNA sequence of phage lambda.

Conformational studies of neurotoxin II from Naja naja oxiana. Selective N-acylation, circular dichroism and nuclear-magnetic-resonance study of acylation products.

After treatment of neurotoxin II, a component part of the venom of the Middle Asian cobra Naja naja oxiana, with acetoxysuccinimide all five possible epsilon-acetylated-lysyl derivatives were obtained and the position of the label was established. Trifluoroacetylation of both the derivatives and the parent toxin yielded, respectively, the five acetyl-penta(trifluoroacetyl)-neurotoxins II and the hexa(trifluoroacetyl)-neurotoxin II, which were studied by circular dichroism (CD), 1H and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The availability of this series of compounds made possible assignment of all six fluorine signals (from the N-terminal and the five epsilon-amino groups) in the hexa(trifluoroacetyl)-neurotoxin II NMR spectra and disclosure of the proximity of the Lys-26 and Lys-46 trifluoroacetyl groups. The pH dependence of the 19F NMR signals was determined and the pK values of the groups affecting the signal chemical shifts were calculated by a computer iterative program. In order to ascertain the relative accessibility of the lysyl side chains, the change in halfwidths of the hexatrifluoroacetylated neurotoxin II 19F signals, with addition of varying amounts of an iminoxyl spin probe, was determined. The data obtained are compared with the X-ray data on sea snake neurotoxins and the significance of the side chain interactions observed in solution is discussed.