To obtain proximity information between tropomyosin (Tm) and caldesmon (CaD) on the muscle thin filament, we cloned gizzard alpha Tm and created two single Cys mutants S56C/ C190S (56Tm) and D100C/C190S (100Tm), They were labeled with benzophenone maleimide (BPM) and UV-irradiated on thin filaments. One chain of BPM-56Tm and two chains of BPM-100Tm crosslinked to CaD, Only BPM-100Tm crosslinked to actin in the absence and presence of CaD and binding of low ratios of myosin subfragment 1 (S1) prevented the crosslinking. Tm-S1 crosslinks were produced when actin Tm mas saturated with S1, Thus, CaD on the actin Tm filament is located < 10 Angstrom away from Tm amino acids 56 and 100; in the closed state of the actin-Tm filament, Tm residue 100 is located close to the actin surface and is moved further away in the S1-induced open state; in the open state, S1 binds close to Tm, (C) 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.