Sequence-specific 'H-NMR assignments are reported for the Tyr41 --f His (Y41H) mutant of the singlestranded DNA binding protein, encoded by gene V of the filamentous bacteriophage MI3 (GVP). The mutant protein was chosen for this purpose because it exhibits significantly improved solubility characteristics over wildtype GVP [Folkers et al. (1991) Eur. J . Biochem. 200, 139-1481. The secondary structure elements present in the protein are deduced from a qualitative interpretation of the nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectra and amide exchange data. The protein is entirely composed of antiparallel P-structure. It is shown that identical structural elements are present in wild-type GVP. Previously, we have demonstrated that the secondary structure of the flloop, encompassing residues 13-31 which is present in GVP in solution, deviates from that proposed for the same amino acid sequence on the basis of X-ray diffraction data [van Duynhoven et al. (1990) FEBS Lett. 261, 1-41, Now that we have arrived at a complete description of the secondary structure of the protein in solution, other deviations with respect to the crystallographically determined structure became apparent as well. The Nterminal part of the protein is, in solution, part of a triple-stranded P-sheet while, in the crystal, it is an extended strand pointing away from the bulk of the protein dimer. One of the antiparallel P-sheets in the protein which had been designated earlier as the complex loop has, in the solution structure, a different pairwise arrangement of the residues in its respective P-ladders. Residues 30 and 48 are opposite to one another in the solution structure while in the crystal structure residues 32 and 48 are paired. A similar observation is made for the so-called dyad domain of the protein of which the &sheet in the solution structure is shifted by one residue with respect to that of the crystal structure.The genomes of the filamentous bacteriophages containing single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), such as Ff(M13, fd and fl), IKe and Pf3, code for an ssDNA binding protein which plays an indispensible role in the phage replication process [I]. Late in infection, the ssDNA binding protein encoded by gene V (GVP) causes the transition from double-stranded DNA replication to the asymmetric synthesis of the viral strand by forming a tight complex with it. Furthermore, GVP negatively regulates, at the level of translation, the synthesis of a number of phage-encoded proteins including the DNA replication proteins encoded by the genes I1 and X and that of its own [2 -51. Since it was first isolated, the protein has been subjected to various physico-chemical studies and it is considered an important model for protein -ssDNA interactions. The GVP encoded by the filamentous phage Ff(M13, fd and f l ) consists of 87 amino acids, and in solution occurs predominantly as a dimer with a molecular mass of 19.4 kDa. It is the only ssDNA Ahhreviurions. GVP, gene V protein; GVP Y41H, GVP with Tyr41 replaced by His; ssDNA, single-stranded DNA, TOCSY, total cor...