[Proteolysis as an approach to the study of protein distribution in the membrane of Micrococcus lysodeikticus].

Treatment of M. lysodeikticus protoplasts with subtilisin or pronase did not affect their permeability and led to a digestion of 20--30% of protein. DS-Na electrophoresis of protoplast membranes resulted in disappearance of three protein bands. This suggests that the outer surface of M. lysodeikticus protoplasts contains three proteins other than respiratory chain enzymes, which are subjected to an attack by proteinases. Treatment of the M. lysodeikticus membranes, isolated by osmotic shock, with proteinases resulted in a digestion of 20--50% of protein. The factors preventing the interaction between the membrane components (e.g. decrease of Mg2+ concentration, ultrasound, KCl, EDTA and particularly detergents) favoured the proteolysis; however, the bulk of the proteins remained insensitive to the effect of proteinases. The membranes pretreated with DS-Na or chlorophorm--methanol mixture proved to be good substrates for proteinases. Treatment of the membrane fraction with proteolytic enzymes allowed to obtain some data on localization of respiratory chain enzymes in the membrane stroma of M. lysodeikticus. Thus, cytochrome c is localized nearer to the membrane surface than cytochromes a and b, while malate dehydrogenase is plunged deeper into the membrane stroma as compared to NADH dehydrogenase.