A new crystal form of tropomyosin. Preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis

Coiled-coil packing in spermine-induced tropomyosin crystals. A comparative study of three forms

Electron microscope images of highly ordered spermine-induced microcrystals of tropomyosin have been analyzed to determine the packing of the molecular filaments. Negatively stained microcrystals terminate in a distinctive "double fringe", which reveals the location of the molecular ends. This information, together with the symmetry of the structure in projection, shows that the microcrystals can be accounted for by a packing scheme of four layers of molecules in the unit cell. Knowing the position of the symmetry elements relating the layers then allows the three-dimensional space group of the microcrystals to be established as C222(1). Using cryo-electron microscopy and simulation studies, the run of the filaments and their packing in the C222(1) form have been shown to be related to those in the spermine-induced C2 crystal of tropomyosin whose structure has been solved to 9 A by X-ray crystallography. This result allows us to infer the location of the molecular ends in the C2 crystal as well, and this inference has been confirmed by analysis of thin sections of the C2 crystal. The C222(1) microcrystal has also been shown to be closely related to the classical divalent cation tropomyosin paracrystal. Based on knowledge of the molecular packing in the divalent cation paracrystal, the polarity of the molecules has been deduced in the other two crystal forms. The tropomyosin filament packing in all these forms may be accounted for by coiled-coil close packing and specific cationic bridging of negatively charged zones on the molecule. Taken together the results reveal a hierarchy of interactions in these close-packed crystalline forms, whose principles may apply to the packing in other fibrous proteins. This study also shows the usefulness of co-ordinating results from cryo-electron microscopy with negative staining in the structure analysis of such ordered arrays, and how these findings can complement the results of low resolution X-ray crystallographic studies.

Structure of tropomyosin at 9 angstroms resolution

We have used molecular replacement followed by a highly parameterized refinement to determine the structure of tropomyosin crystals to a resolution to 9 A. The shape, coiled-coil structure and interactions of the molecules in the crystals have been determined. These crystals have C2 symmetry with a = 259.7 A, b = 55.3 A, c = 135.6 A and beta = 97.2 degrees. Because of the unusual distribution of intensity in X-ray diffraction patterns from these crystals, it was possible to solve the rotation problem by inspection of qualitative aspects of the diffraction data and to define unequivocally the general alignment of the molecules along the (332) and (3-32) directions of the unit cell. The translation function was then solved by a direct search procedure, while electron microscopy of a related crystal form indicated the probable location of molecular ends in the asymmetric unit, as well as the anti-parallel arrangement. The structural model we have obtained is much clearer than that obtained previously with crystals of extraordinarily high solvent content and shows the two alpha-helices of the coiled coil over most of the length of the molecules and establishes the coiled-coil pitch at 140(+/- 10) A. Moreover, the precise value of the coiled-coil pitch varies along the molecule, probably in response to local variations in the amino acid sequence, which we have determined by sequencing the appropriate cDNA. The crystals are constructed from layers of tropomyosin filaments. There are two molecules in the crystallographic asymmetric unit and the molecules within a layer are bent into an approximately sinusoidal profile. Molecules in consecutive layers in the crystal lie at an angle relative to one another as found in crystalline arrays of actin and myosin rod. There are three classes of interactions between tropomyosin molecules in the spermine-induced crystals and these give some insights into the molecular interactions between coiled-coil molecules that may have implications for assemblies such as muscle thick filaments and intermediate filaments. In interactions within a layer, the geometry of coiled-coil contacts is retained, whereas in contacts between molecules in adjacent layers the coiled-coil geometry varies and these interactions instead appear to be dominated by the repeating pattern of charged zones along the molecule.

Structural studies of tropomyosin by cryoelectron microscopy and x-ray diffraction

A comparison has been made between cryoelectron microscope images and the x-ray structure of one projection of the Bailey tropomyosin crystal. The computed transforms of the electron micrographs extend to a resolution of approximately 18 A compared with the reflections from x-ray crystallography which extend to 15 A. After correction of the images for lattice distortions and the contrast transfer function, the structure factors were constrained to the plane group (pmg) symmetry of this projection. Amplitude and phase data for five images were compared with the corresponding view from the three-dimensional x-ray diffraction data (Phillips, G.N., Jr., J.P. Fillers, and C. Cohen. 1986. J. Mol. Biol. 192: 111-131). The average R factor between the electron microscopy and x-ray amplitudes was 15%, with an amplitude-weighted mean phase difference of 4.8 degrees. The density maps derived from cryoelectron microscopy contain structural features similar to those from x-ray diffraction: these include the width and run of the filaments and their woven appearance at the crossover regions. Preliminary images obtained from frozen-hydrated tropomyosin/troponin cocrystals suggest that this approach may provide structural details not readily obtainable from x-ray diffraction studies.

High-resolution spot-scan electron microscopy of microcrystals of an alpha-helical coiled-coil protein

We describe the electron microscopy of a crystalline assembly of an alpha-helical coiled-coil protein extracted from the ootheca of the praying mantis. Electron diffraction patterns of unstained crystals show crystal lattice sampling of the coiled-coil molecular transform to a resolution beyond 1.5 A. Using a "spot-scan" method of electron imaging, micrographs of unstained crystals have been obtained that visibly diffract laser light from crystal spacings as small as 4.3 A. A projection map was calculated to 4 A using electron diffraction amplitudes and phases from computer-processed images. The projection map clearly shows modulations in density arising from the 5.1 A alpha-helical repeat, the first time this type of modulation has been revealed by electron microscopy. The crystals have p2 plane group symmetry with a = 92.4 A, b = 150.7 A, y = 92.4 degrees. Examination of tilted specimens shows that c is approximately 18 A, indicating that the unit cell is only one molecule thick. A preliminary interpretation shows tightly packed molecules some 400 A long lying with their long axes in the plane of the projection. The molecules have a coiled-coil configuration for most of their length. The possible modes of packing of the molecules in three dimensions are discussed.

An X-ray diffraction study of alpha-tropomyosin magnesium tactoid

The structure of the needle-shaped aggregate of alpha-tropomyosin formed in the presence of Mg2+ ions (the Mg-tactoid) was studied by X-ray diffraction. Orientated specimens were prepared by magnetic orientation. The meridional reflections corresponding to a Bragg spacing of up to 2.6 nm were recorded and phased by the isomorphous replacement method using p-chloromercuribenzoate bound to the unique cysteine residue of the alpha-chain of tropomyosin. The axial electron density profile thus obtained was compared with the model proposed from electron microscopic investigations. With an adequate phase combination for the observed intensities, the agreement was satisfactory. Comparison with electron micrographs of negatively stained Mg-tactoids suggests that the C-terminus of the molecule has an extended conformation and penetrates into the N-N overlap region. The principal repeat length along the tactoid was 39.0 nm, which was about 5% shorter than the expected periodicity of the tropomyosin molecules with an end-to-end overlap of eight residues, suggesting supercoiling. The equatorial reflections consisted of the diffuse peaks at 1/8 nm-1 and 1/2.3 nm-1. The former indicates, for the first time, the presence of a large structural unit with low crystallinity. The spacing of the latter probably corresponds to the average centre-to-centre distance between neighbouring tropomyosin molecules.