Cooperative transition in the conformation of 24-mer tarantula hemocyanin upon oxygen binding

Tryptophan quenching as linear sensor for oxygen binding of arthropod hemocyanins

Oxygen binding of hemocyanins results in an absorption band around 340nm and a strong quenching of the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence. Our study analyses in detail the fluorescence quenching within two hemocyanins, a hexamer (Panulirus interruptus) and a 4 x 6-mer (Eurypelma californicum). Based on the comparison of calculated and measured transfer efficiencies we could show that: (1) For both hemocyanins FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) is exclusively responsible for quenching of the tryptophan fluorescence upon oxygen binding. (2) Tryptophan quenching by FRET is independent of the oxy- or deoxy conformation of the protein. (3) The quenching takes place at the subunit level only and the oligomerization of both hemocyanins has no influence on the amount of quenching. Therefore, tryptophan fluorescence is a linear sensor for bound oxygen. It can be used as a model-free signal to investigate oxygen binding of hemocyanins at all aggregation levels. Furthermore it may provide a new way to analyse oxygen binding of phenoloxidases.

Immobilization and AFM of single 4×6-mer tarantula hemocyanin molecules

The high molecular mass respiratory protein of the tarantula Eurypelma californicum, a 4 x 6-mer hemocyanin, was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Various substrates and methods were evaluated for immobilization of individual hemocyanin molecules on a solid surface. Samples were imaged after physisorption on mica and self-assembled monolayers, and after chemisorption on Au(111) and N-hydroxy-succinimide (NHS) functionalized surfaces. AFM measurements were carried out preferable in solution and contact mode, but also in Tapping mode and on air-dried samples. Adsorption of the protein on mica followed by drying and carrying out the measurements in Tapping mode gave the best results. In the AFM images the four hexamers of the native 4 x 6-mer hemocyanin have been defined. The results were compared with independent available structural data and represent a validation case for this technique applied for the first time on such giant and complex molecules. As observable in images taken by transmission electron microscopy and also proposed from SAXS data, 4 x 6-mers could be found where the half-molecules are tilted against each other. This study is a step in resolving conformational heterogeneities, involved in oxygen binding of hemocyanins, at the single-molecule level by AFM.