BEAD MODELING USING HYDRO AND SOLPRO OF THE CONFORMATION OF MULTISUBUNIT PROTEINS - SUNFLOWER AND RAPESEED 11S GLOBULINS

Oil seed globulins from sunflower and rape seed are multi-subunit, oli gomeric proteins whose native 11S form is a hexamer. In this work we t ry to determine the spatial structure in which the six subunits of 11S globulin are arranged. Experimental values of solution properties, in cluding radius of gyration, sedimentation and diffusion coefficients a nd intrinsic viscosity, are compared with theoretical predictions for hexamers of various geometries. Bead model calculations of solution pr operties are carried out using the HYDRO and SOLPRO computer programs. A most compact shape, the regular octahedron, is the hexameric struct ure that fits best the experimental values. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.