Structural and functional aspects of collar domains of Helix pomatia beta c-hemocyanin.

Digestion of beta c-hemocyanin yielded tubular polymers as well as so-called collars. Analysis of the collar fraction revealed that it consisted of two fragments, one having a relative molecular mass of approx. 125000 and the other a relative molecular mass of approx. 65000. They were separated using ion-exchange chromatography. The large fragment dissociated around pH 9.5 into two components having a molecular mass of approx. 65000. Both fragments bound oxygen and displayed heterotropic interactions. The large fragment bound oxygen with a Hill coefficient less than unity under certain conditions. The fragments differed also in amino acid composition, sugar content, spectral parameters, association-dissociation phenomena and ageing. by comparison with fragments obtained after limited proteolysis of tenth molecules, their location in the polypeptide chain was established.