Circular dichroism and the secondary structure of the ROF2 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana

J Biol Phys. 2013 Sep;39(4):635-48. doi: 10.1007/s10867-013-9323-y. Epub 2013 Jun 19.

Abstract

The protein ROF2 from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana acts as a heat stress modulator, being involved in the long-term acquired thermotolerance of the plant. Here we investigate the relationship between the biological function and the structure of ROF2, inferred by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The far-UV CD spectra, analyzed with the CDPro and DICHROWEB program packages, yield the percentages of α-helices, β-sheets, unordered regions, turns and poly(Pro)II-helices in the secondary structure of ROF2. According to the analysis, the percentages of the structural elements of ROF2 are about 40% for β-sheets, 30% for unordered regions, 17% for turns, 10% for poly(Pro)II-helices and 3% for α-helices. The near-UV CD spectra suggest that ROF2 proteins can associate, forming super-secondary structures. Our CD experiments performed at temperatures between 5 °C and 97 °C indicate that the thermal denaturation of ROF2 caused by a raise in temperature up to 55 °C is followed by a thermal refolding of the protein as the temperature is raised further. The new secondary structure, acquired around 65 °C, remains stable up to 97 °C. The structural stability of ROF2 at high temperatures might play an important role in the experimentally observed thermotolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis Proteins / chemistry*
  • Arabidopsis*
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Peptidylprolyl Isomerase / chemistry*
  • Protein Stability
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Peptidylprolyl Isomerase
  • ROF2 protein, Arabidopsis