| Transducin (T), a GTP-binding protein involved in phototransduction of rod photoreceptor cells, is a heterotrimer arranged as two units, the a-subunit (Ta) and the bg-complex (Tbg). The role of the carboxyl groups in T was evaluated by labeling with N, N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) and 1-ethyl 3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC). Only a minor effect on the binding of b, g-imido guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GMPpNp) to T was observed in the presence of the hydrophobic carbodiimide, DCCD. Similarly, the GMPpNp binding activity of the reconstituted holoenzyme was not significantly affected when Ta was combined with DCCD-treated Tbg. However, the binding of guanine nucleotides to the reconstituted T was ~50% inhibited when DCCD-labeled Ta was... |
