C1 proteins: a class of high-mobility-group non-histone chromosomal proteins from the fruit fly Ceratitis capitata

1. CM-cellulose chromatography of a fraction soluble in 5% perchloric acid from Ceratitis capitata chromatin yields three proteins, C1a1, C1a2 and C1b, which have been purified to electrophoretical homogeneity. 2. C1a1, C1a2 and C1b analyse like high mobility group (HMG) non-histone chromosomal proteins, although they do not exactly correspond with those from vertebrates. It is proposed that C1 proteins, as well as Drosophila D1 [Rodríguez Alfageme et al. (1980) Chromosoma, 78, 1-31] are representative of a class of insect-specific HMG proteins. Tryptic fingerprints show that C1a1 and C1a2 are very similar, but C1b is a somewhat distinct protein. Circular dichroism studies have shown that these preparations do not appreciably fold on increasing ionic strength. 3. The interactions between DNA and C1 proteins have been studied. These proteins precipitate DNA in 0.15 M NaCl, 0.015 M sodium citrate and the precipitation curves are cooperative. Soluble complexes between C1 proteins and DNA could be prepared in low ionic strength media and their thermal denaturation profiles obtained. C1 proteins do not destabilize DNA under the conditions used to prepare the complexes but the three proteins stabilize DNA to a different degree. From these studies it has been concluded that the association constant of C1b to DNA is smaller than that of C1a1 and C1a2.