The isolated α, β and two γ subunits of the R-phycoerythrin (R-PE) from Polysiphonia urceolata were renaturated by the artificial chaperone technique in combination with β-cyclodextrins. The molecular weights determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) are 17 580, 19 050, 32 500 and 34 060 for the α, β, γ1 and γ2 subunits, respectively. The renaturation yields of the four subunits obtained by the artificial chaperone technique are several times higher than those achieved by conventional methods. The two γ subunits are suggested to be naturally present species, instead of artificial products, considering the molecular weights and spectral features. The existence of two kinds of γ subunits may explain the failure to determine the entire structures of R-PE, b- or B-phycoerythrin (b- or B-PE) by X-ray crystal structural analyses.
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