Purification and characterization of chaperonin 10 from Chromatium vinosum

Chromatium vinosum contains a polypeptide that is functionally and structurally similar to the Escherichia coli chaperonin 10. The protein has been purified to homogeneity by sucrose density gradient centrifugation followed by gel filtration using a Bio-Gel A-1.5 m column. The molecular mass of chaperonin 10, as determined by gel filtration or nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, is 95 kDa. The oligomer is composed of seven or eight subunits. Comparisons of the overall amino acid composition and N-terminal sequences among chaperonin 10 species from C. vinosum and E. coli reflect a high degree of similarity. A physical association between chaperonins 60 and 10 from C. vinosum, in vitro, is supported by three experimental approaches. First, the proteins form a stable binary complex in sucrose density gradients, gel filtration chromatography, and nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, solely in the presence of ATP and Mg2+. Second, chaperonin 10 from C. vinosum binds, selectively, to a chaperonin 60-coupled Affi-Gel 10 matrix column. Third, a slight molar excess of chaperonin 10 is able to abolish, almost completely, the ATPase in chaperonin 60. The rate for ATPase activity of chaperonin 60 from C. vinosum is enhanced when supplemented with monovalent cations.