In vitro Translation and Methylation of Iso-1-Cytochrome C from Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

The gene for iso-1-cytochrome c for Saccharomyces cerevisiae was recloned into a pSP65 vector containing an active bacteriophage SP6 promoter. The iso-1-cytochrome c gene was cloned as an 856 bp Xho 1-Hind III fragment. When the resulting plasmid was digested at the Hind 111 site 279 bases downstream from the termination codon of the gene and transcribed in vitro using SP6 RNA polymerase, full length transcripts were produced. The SP6 iso-1-cytochrome c mRNA was translated using a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system and the protein products analyzed on SDS polyacrylamide gels. One major band was detected by autofluorography. This band was found to have a molecular weight of 12,000 Da and coincided with the Coomassie staining band of apocytochrome c from S. cerebisiae. The product was also shown to be identical with that of standard yeast apocytochrome c on an isoelectric focusing gel. The in vitro synthesized iso-a-cytochrome c was methylated by adding partially purified S-adenosyl-L-methionine . protein-lysine N-methyltransferase (Protein methylase III; EC 2.1.1.43) from S. cerevisiae along with S-adenosyl-L-methionine to the in vitro translation mixtures. The methylation was shown to be inhibited by the addition of the methylase inhibitor S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine or the protein synthesis inhibitor pu omycin. The methyl derivatives in the protein were identified as $\varepsilon$-N-mono, di and trimethyllysine by amino acid analysis. The molar ratio of methyl groups incorporated to that of cytochrome c molecules synthesized showed that 23% of the translated cytochrome c molecules were methylated by protein methylase III.