Comparative study on the secondary structure of lysozymes from different sources.

The secondary structure of 16 type c lysozymes, 2 type g lysozymes, phage T4 lysozyme and bovine alpha-lactalbumin have been estimated according to the method of Chou and Fasman (1978). The prediction has been done on the partial sequence of lysozymes from three insects and tortoise egg-white lysozyme. From these studies, patterns of common secondary structure domains on lysozymes have been developed. These patterns have been compared attending to the active site and the antigenic loop of the hen enzyme of which three-dimensional structure is known. The three-dimensional structures of phage T4 and hen egg-white lysozymes have common alpha-carbon backbone domains being that also observed by these predictions. Immunological results are also discussed in terms of secondary structure homologies.