Studies on algal cytochromes VI: some properties and amino acid sequence of cytochrome c6 from a green alga, Bryopsis maxima.

A photosynthetic c-type cytochrome, cytochrome c6, was extracted from a green alga, Bryopsis maxima, by cutting and immersing the frozen thalli in phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, and purified by acrinol treatment, ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephacel chromatography and Bio-Gel P-10 gel filtration. The ferrcytochrome c6 has absorption maxima at 553.5 (alpha), 523 (beta), 417 (gamma), 318 (delta), and 275 nm, and the ferricytochrome at 695, 528, and 411 (gamma). The molecular weight was estimated to be about 10,000 from Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The midpoint redox potential for the cytochrome was determined by equilibrium titration with a ferro- and ferricyanide system to be 0.385 volt at pH 7.0. Isoelectric points for ferro- and ferricytochromes were determined by density gradient isoelectric focusing electrophoresis to be at pH 3.91 and 4.02, respectively. The complete amino acid sequence of the cytochrome was determined by Edman degradation and by carboxypeptidase digestions of the Cm-cytochrome, 6 staphylococcal protease peptides and 5 lysyl endopeptidase peptides. The cytochrome contained 88 amino acid residues, giving a molecular weight of 9,904 including 1 mol of heme c. The sequence is as follows: GGDLEIGADVFTGNCAACHAGGANSVEPLKTLNKEDVTKYLDGGLSIEAITSQVRNGKGAMPAWSDRLD DEEIDGVVAYVFKNINEGW. A phylogenetic tree of 13 algal cytochromes c6 was constructed by comparing the amino acid differences.