Properties of monomeric paramyosin using a transient electric birefringence techniques.

Paramyosin samples obtained from the chowder clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, by different extraction techniques were studied using transient electric birefringence techniques. The protein remain monomeric (unaggregated) in 1 mM buffer solution at pH 3.1 to 3.8 and near pH 10. At pH 3.2, the molecules obtained by different extraction techniques exhibit rotational diffusion constants that indicate a 5% difference in length between them, with the probable native form of paramyosin being the longer species. This difference in rotational diffusion constant disappears at higher pH, and, in addition, a large difference in dipole moment between the molecules observed at pH 3.2 also disappears at high pH. These results are used to hypothesize that the rodlike native paramyosin molecules have one or two partly flexible portions on their ends; at one end of each molecule this portion probably contains excess basic amino acids which are charged at low pH to account for the higher dipole moment of this form of paramyosin at these low pH values. At pH 3.2, these portions of the macromolecule are not flexible and act as stiff parts of the rodlike molecules, but they gradually become flexible at higher pH. Possible mechanisms for this change in flexibility are discussed.