Abstract
The complete amino acid sequence of coagulogen purified from the hemocytes of the horseshoe crab Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda was determined by characterization of the NH2-terminal sequence and the peptides generated after digestion of the protein with lysyl endopeptidase, Staphylococcal aureus protease V8 and trypsin. Upon sequencing the peptides by the automated Edman method, the following sequence was obtained:
1 10 20 30 _??_ D T N A P L _??_ L _??_ D E P G ILGRN _??_ L V T P E V K E K _??_
E K A V E A V A E E S G V S G R G F S L F S H H P V F R E C
G K Y E C R T V R P E H T R C Y N F P P F V H F T S E C P V
S T R D C E P V F G Y T V A G E F R V I V Q A P R A G F R Q
C V W Q H K C R Y G S N N C G F S G R C T Q Q R S V V R L V
T Y N L E K D G F L C E S F R T C C G C P C R N Y
Carcinoscorpius coagulogen consists of a single polypeptide chain with a total of 175 amino acid residues and a calculated molecular weight of 19, 675. The secondary structure calculated by the method of Chou and Fasman reveals the presence of an a-helix region in the peptide C segment (residue Nos. 19 to 46), which is released during the proteolytic conversion of coagulogen to coagulin gel. The β-sheet structure and the 16 half-cystines found in the molecule appear to yield a compact protein stable to acid and heat. The amino acid sequences of coagulogen of four species of limulus have been compared and the interspecies evolutionary differences are discussed.
