Characterization of green fluorescent proteins by 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation mass spectrometry

Abstract

We investigate the utility of 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) in comparison to CID, higher energy CID (HCD), and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) for top down fragmentation of highly homologous green fluorescent proteins (GFP) in the gas phase. Several GFP variants were constructed via mutation of surface residues to charged moieties, demonstrating different pIs and presenting a challenge for identification by mass spectrometry. Presented is a comparison of fragmentation techniques utilized for top down characterization of four variants with varying levels of surface charge. UVPD consistently resulted in identification of more fragment ions relative to other MS/MS methods, allowing higher confidence identification. In addition to the high number of fragment ions, the sites of fragmentation were more evenly spread throughout the protein backbone, which proved key for localizing the point mutations.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 10, 2014
Source ID
10.1002/pmic.201300364

Entities

People

  • Andrew D Ellington
  • Christien Kluwe
  • Jennifer S. Brodbelt
  • Joe R. Cannon

Organizations

  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Robert A. Welch Foundation
  • University of Texas at Austin

Tags

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Molecular Genetics

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics