Expression and characterisation of a highly repetitive peptide derived from a wheat seed storage protein

The high molecular weight (HMW) subunit group of wheat seed storage proteins impart elasticity to wheat doughs and glutens. They consist of three domains: non-repetitive N- and C-terminal domains, which contain cysteine residues for covalent cross-linking, and a central domain consisting of repeated sequences. The circular dichroism and infrared (IR) spectra of an intact HMW subunit were compared with those of a peptide corresponding to the central repetitive domain expressed in Escherichia coli. This allowed the structure of the central domain to be studied in the absence of the N- and C-terminal domains and the contributions of these domains to the structure of the whole protein to be determined. In solution the peptide showed the presence of beta-turns and polyproline II-like structure. Variable temperature studies indicated an equilibrium between these two structures, the polyproline II conformation predominating at low temperatures and the beta-turn conformation at higher temperatures. IR in the hydrated solid state also indicated the presence of beta-turns and intermolecular beta-sheet structures. In contrast, spectroscopy of the whole subunit showed the presence of alpha-helix in the N- and C-terminal domains. The content of beta-sheet was also higher in the whole subunit, indicating that the N- and C-terminal domains may promote the formation of intermolecular beta-sheet structures between the repetitive sequences, perhaps by aligning the molecules to promote interaction.