Unfolding of the loggerhead sea turtle ( Caretta caretta ) myoglobin: A 1 H‐NMR and electronic absorbance study

Abstract

The effect of urea concentration on the backbone solution structure of the cyanide derivative of ferric Caretta caretta myoglobin (at pH 5.4) is reported. By addition of urea, sequential and long‐range nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) are gradually lost. By using the residual NOE constraints to build the molecular model, a picture of the unfolding pathway was obtained. When the urea concentration is raised to 2.2 M, helices A and B appear largely disordered; helices C, D, and F loose structural constraints at 3.0 M urea. At urea concentration >6 M, the protein appears to be fully unfolded, including the GH hairpin and helix E stabilizing the prosthetic group. Reversible and cooperative denaturation isotherms obtained by following NOE peaks are considerably different from those obtained by monitoring electronic absorption changes. The reversible and cooperative urea‐dependent folding‐unfolding process of C. caretta myoglobin follows the minimum three‐state mechanism N⟷X⟷D, where X represents a disordered globin structure (occurring at ∼4 M urea) that still binds the heme.