The crystal structures of the synthetic C-terminal octa- and dodecapeptides of trichovirin.

The structures of two synthetic peptides with sequences corresponding to the C-terminal region of the naturally occurring 14-residue peptaibol trichovirin have been determined. The crystal structures of 8- and 12-residue segments are presented and are compared with the structures of the tetrapeptide and of the 9-residue segment, which have been reported earlier. A comparison between these segments leads to the hypothesis that the three-dimensional structure of trichovirin is to a large extent determined by the properties of a periodically repeating -Aib-Pro- pattern in the sequence of the peptide.