Circular Dichroism Analysis of Native and Reaggregated Mycoplasma Membranes

Circular dichroism analyses of Acholeplasma laidlawii membranes solubilized by sodium dodecyl sulfate showed a typical α-helix spectrum. The estimated α-helix content was of the order of 35% calculated from the ellipticity at 208 nm of membranes solubilized by 20 mM SDS. Reaggregation of the solubilized membrane material to a membrane-like structure resulted in a distorted spectrum with low amplitude and red-shifted extrema like that of the native membranes. Throughout the growth cycle the circular dichroism spectra of membrane proteins remained the same despite the marked differences in membrane densities. The optical activity of the membranes was not affected by changing the lipid composition or extraction of over 90% of the lipids, although the latter resulted in marked destabilization of the proteins.