Chapter 3 . Parvalbumin Mutants

The J. D. Potter laboratory in the University of Miami Medical School has engineered carp β parvalbumin mutants using site-directed mutagenesis. These mutants were designed explicitly to explore the roles of specific EF-hand residues in metal ionbinding. The cation-binding parameters have been measured for the mutant proteins by the Potter laboratory, and those mutations that have resulted in new metal ion-binding parameters have been submitted to structural studies. The purpose of the structure determinations has been to ascertain the mechanisms by which these binding sites prefer one cationic species to another.