[Mobility of collagen structure and temperature adaptation of animals]

The method of hydrogen exchange is used to determine the mobility of acid-soluble collagen molecules from animals with different physiological temperature in terms of equilibrium constants of the formation of micro-unfolding or fluctuating defects of the structure. It has been shown that mobility of the collagen structure correlates with the physiological temperature of the animal from whose tissue collagen was isolated and is mainly determined by the amino acid content of the collagen. It has been shown also that at physiological temperatures characteristic for a particular species the level of collagen mobility is of the same order despite their different thermostability. The conclusion has been drawn that the level of mobility is the main criterion at the natural selection of the amino acid composition of collagens in different animals.