3D triple-resonance NMR techniques for the sequential assignment of NH and 15N resonances in 15N- and 13C-labelled proteins.

Two new 3D 1H-15N-13C triple-resonance experiments are presented which provide sequential cross peaks between the amide proton of one residue and the amide nitrogen of the preceding and succeeding residues or the amide proton of one residue and the amide proton of the preceding and succeeding residues, respectively. These experiments, which we term 3D-HN(CA)NNH and 3D-H(NCA)NNH, utilize an optimized magnetization transfer via the 2JNC alpha coupling to establish the sequential assignment of backbone NH and 15N resonances. In contrast to NH-NH connectivities observable in homonuclear NOESY spectra, the assignments from the 3D-H(NCA)NNH experiment are conformation independent to a first-order approximation. Thus the assignments obtained from these experiments can be used as either confirmation of assignments obtained from a conventional homonuclear approach or as an initial step in the analysis of backbone resonances according to Ikura et al. (1990) [Biochemistry, 29, 4659-4667]. Both techniques were applied to uniformly 15N- and 13C-labelled ribonuclease T1.