Macromolecules and Salts: Interactions

Henryk Eisenberg, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003118

Biological macromolecules carry electrical charges and operate in crowded and complex systems. An understanding of electrostatic interactions is essential for the evaluation of biological function.

Keywords: viscosity; analytical centrifugation; light scattering; X-Ray scattering; neutron scattering; charged macromolecule–cosolvent interactions; protein–nucleic acid interactions

Figure 1. (a) Viscosity numbers sp/c of E. coli RNA solutions at various NaCl concentrations (marked on each curve) at 25°C. (b) Intrinsic viscosities [] of RNA solutions as a function of NaCl concentration. From Littauer and Eisenberg, (1959), with permission.
Figure 2. Second virial coefficients A2 (from light scattering) of poly(A), as a function of temperature; blue circles, 1740 nucleotides, 1 mol L–1 NaCl; green circles, 1462 nucleotides, 1 mol L–1 NaCl; red circles, 1740 nucleotides, 1.3 mol L–1 NaCl. From Eisenberg and Felsenfeld, (1967), with permission.
Figure 3. Relative light scattering intensities versus time in the denaturation process of halophilic malate dehydrogenase complexed with the coenzyme NADH in 0.8 mol L–1 NaCl, 5 mmol L–1 Tris, pH 8, 20°C. Insert: determination of translational coefficient D by dynamic light scattering distribution of particle sizes after (a) 1 h, (b) 24 h and (c) 118 h. From Bonneté et al., (1993), with permission.
Figure 4. Unsmoothed derivative plot of dA280/dr versus r of native and denatured halophilic malate dehydrogenase (hMDH) complexed with the coenzyme NADH after 120 min velocity sedimentation in 1.25 mol L–1 NaCl, 5 mol L–1 Tris, pH 8, 42 000 rpm, 20°C. From Bonneté et al., (1993), with permission.
Figure 5. Complementary superposition of normalized (*) data from equilibrium sedimentation, SAXS and SANS of halophilic malate dehydrogenase; (/c2)* M2 versus x*. In NaCl: open circles, from densimetry; open squares, +, from s/D; ×, from equilibrium sedimentation; open diamonds, from SAXS; open triangles, from SANS. In KCl: closed squares, from equilibrium sedimentation; closed circles, from s/D; closed triangles, from SANS. Insert: enlargement of the lower part of the plot mass and X-ray data). From Bonneté et al., (1993), with permission.
Figure 6. Schematic representation of the crystal structure of halophilic malate dehydrogenase from Haloarcula marismortui at 3.2 Å resolution. The numbers 1–4 correspond to the four monomers. Red spheres, acidic amino acids; blue spheres, basic amino acids. From Dym et al., (1995), with permission.
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 References
    Bonneté F, Ebel C, Zaccai G and Eisenberg H (1993) A biophysical study of halophilic malate dehydrogenase in solution, revised subunit structure and solvent interactions of native and recombinant enzyme. Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions 89: 2659–2666.
    Casassa EF and Eisenberg H (1964) Thermodynamic analysis of multicomponent solutions. Advances in Protein Chemistry 19: 287–395.
    Dym O, Mevarech M and Sussman JL (1995) Structural features that stabilize halophilic malate dehydrogenase from an archaebacterium. Science 267: 1344–1346.
    book Eisenberg H (1976) Biological Macromolecules and Polyelectrolytes in Solution. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
    Eisenberg H (1994) Protein and nucleic acid hydration and cosolvent interactions: establishment of reliable base-line values at high cosolvent concentrations. Biophysical Chemistry 53: 57–68.
    Eisenberg H (1995) Life in unusual environments: progress in understanding the structure and function of enzymes from extreme halophilic bacteria. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 318: 1–5.
    Eisenberg H (1998) Polyelectrolyte excluded volume and expansion, compared to non-ionic polymers. Acta Polymerica 49: 534–538.
    Eisenberg H and Felsenfeld G (1967) Studies of the temperature dependent conformation and phase separation of polyriboadenylic acid solutions at neutral pH. Journal of Molecular Biology 30: 17–37.
    book Flory PJ (1953) Principles of Polymer Chemistry. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
    book Fujita H (1994) "Notes on the derivation of the sedimentation equilibrium equation". In: Schuster TM and Laue TM (eds) Modern Analytical Ultracentrifugation, pp. 3–14. Boston: Birkhäuser.
    Jaenicke R and Böhm G (1998) The stability of proteins in extreme environments. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 8: 738–748.
    Laue TM and Stafford III WF (1999) Modern applications of analytical ultracentrifugation. Annual Reviews of Biophysics and Biomolecular Structure 28: 75–100.
    Littauer UZ and Eisenberg H (1959) Ribonucleic acid from Escherichia coli: preparation, characterization and physical properties. Biochimica Biophysica Acta 32: 320–337.
    book Mandel M (1988) "Polyelectrolytes". In: Mark HF, Bikales NM, Overberger CG, Menges G and Kroschwitz JI (eds) Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, 2nd edn. vol. 11, pp. 739–829. New York: Wiley.
    McFail-Isom L, Sines CC and Williams LD (1999) DNA structure: cations in charge? Current Opinion in Structural Biology 9: 298–304.
    Mevarech M, Frolow F and Gloss L (2000) Halophilic enzymes: proteins with a grain of salt. Biophysical Chemistry 86: 155–164.
    Record MT Jr, Zhang W and Anderson CF (1998) Analysis of effects of salts and uncharged solutes on protein and nucleic acids equilibria and processes: a practical guide to recognizing and interpreting polyelectrolyte effects, Hofmeister effects, and osmotic effects of salts. Advances in Protein Chemistry 51: 282–353.
    Schellman JA (1994) The thermodynamics of solvent exchange. Biopolymers 34: 1015–1026.
    Sharp KA and Honig B (1995) Salt effects on nucleic acids. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 5: 323–328.
    Timasheff SN (1998) Control of protein stability and reactions by weakly interacting cosolvents: the simplicity of the complicated. Advances in Protein Chemistry 51: 355–432.
    Warshel A and Papazyan A (1998) Electrostatic effects in macromolecules: fundamental concepts and practical modeling. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 8: 211–217.
    book Wyman J, Jr and Gill SJ (1990) Binding and Linkage. Functional Chemistry of Biological Macromolecules. Mill Valley, CA: University Science Books.
 Further Reading
    Casassa EF and Eisenberg H (1964) Thermodynamic analysis of multicomponent solutions. Advances in Protein Chemistry 19: 287–395.
    book Eisenberg H (1976) Biological Macromolecules and Polyelectrolytes in Solution. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
    book Flory PJ (1953) Principles of Polymer Chemistry. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
    Jaenicke R and Böhm G (1998) The stability of proteins in extreme environments. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 8: 738–748.
    Laue TM and Stafford III WF (1999) Modern applications of analytical ultracentrifugation. Annual Reviews of Biophysics and Biomolecular Structure 28: 75–100.
    book Mandel M (1988) "Polyelectrolytes". In: Mark HF, Bikales NM, Overberger CG, Menges G and Kroschwitz JI (eds) Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, 2nd edn. vol. 11, pp. 739–829. New York: Wiley.
    McFail-Isom L, Sines CC and Williams LD (1999) DNA structure: cations in charge? Current Opinion in Structural Biology 9: 298–304.
    Record MT Jr, Zhang W and Anderson CF (1998) Analysis of effects of salts and uncharged solutes on protein and nucleic acids equilibria and processes: a practical guide to recognizing and interpreting polyelectrolyte effects, Hofmeister effects, and osmotic effects of salts. Advances in Protein Chemistry 51: 282–353.
    Sharp KA and Honig B (1995) Salt effects on nucleic acids. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 5: 323–328.
    Timasheff SN (1998) Control of protein stability and reactions by weakly interacting cosolvents: the simplicity of the complicated. Advances in Protein Chemistry 51: 355–432.
    Warshel A and Papazyan A (1998) Electrostatic effects in macromolecules: fundamental concepts and practical modeling. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 8: 211–217.
    book Wyman J Jr and Gill SJ (1990) Binding and Linkage. Functional Chemistry of Biological Macromolecules. Mill Valley, CA: University Science Books.

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General Structural Biology | Biomolecular Interactions
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Article Title: Macromolecules and Salts: Interactions
 
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Eisenberg, Henryk(Apr 2001) Macromolecules and Salts: Interactions. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003118]