Isolation and Characterization of Paramyosins of Marine Gastropods

해산복족류(海産腹足類)의 Paramyosin의 분리(分離) 및 그 특성(特性)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究)

The muscle of abalone, Notohaliotis discus (REEVE), and top-shell, Turbo cornutus Solander, were examined for protein composition. Then paramyosins which are known as one of the important structural protein of the muscle fibrils were isolated from the both muscle and their physico-chemical properties such as solubility, salting-out behaviour, intrinsic viscosity, ATPase activity, etc. involving amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid residues were investigated to elucidate phylogenie characteristics more intensively from the viewpoint of comparative biochemistry. The analysis of protein composition resulted in the following estimations: abalone muscle; water-soluble protein of 22 %, salt-soluble protein, 34%, alkali-soluble protein, 20%, and stroma protein, 24%, and top-shell muscle; water-soluble protein of 16%, salt-soluble protein, 30%, alkali-soluble protein, 29%, and stroma protein, 25%, respectively. It is demonstrated in sedimentation analysis that paramyosin and myosin-actomyosin account for approximately 65% and 35% of the salt-soluble protein of abalone, and that the composition of both sediments in top-shell was approximately 70% and 30%, respectively. The ultracentrifugally homogenous paramyosins isolated essentially according to Bailey's ethanol-dried method from both of the muscle showed a $S^{\circ}_{20,w}$ of 3. 14s for abalone and a $S^{\circ}_{20,w}$ of 3.50s for top-shell. The both paramyosins were commonly rich in arginine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid, while scarcely contained proline and tryptophan, in rough accord with the other paramyosins thus far reported. It is clear that these gastropod paramyosins showed of having the characteristic N-terminal amino acid residues such as N-aspartic acid, N-valine, N-serine, and N-threonine in common. The abalone paramyosin completely salted in with KCl beyond $0.35{\mu}$ and the top-shell paramyosin beyond $0.30{\mu}$. The abalone paramyosin was salted-out between 18% and 30% saturation of ammonium sulphate and the top-shell paramyosin between 22% and 29% saturation. The intrinsic viscosities at abalone and top-shell paramyosins at $25^{\circ}C$ were estimated respectively to be 3.1 dl/g and 2.6 dl/g showing somewhat higher than the values for some other paramyosins from lamellibranchs. In regard with the ATPase activity, the para myosin specimens did not exhibit any significant activity over through the pH conditions of 5 to 9.5. irrespective of the presence of $Ca^{++}$ or $Mg^{++}$. So was the case with the abalone paramyosin prepared by a slightly modified Bailey's wet-extraction method.