Orientations of the retinyl and the heme chromophores in the brown membrane of Halobacterium halobium.
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The nucleotide sequences of the L15 gene and the secY gene, which form the last two genes of the S10/spc-operon region of Haloarcula marismortui, have been determined. The HmaL15 protein sequence translated from the DNA is 164 amino acids long, revealing 10 amino acids more at the C-terminus than the published protein sequence. The deduced HmasecY protein sequence has 487 amino acids and shows significant homology to its counterparts in Methanococcus vannielii and Escherichia coli. The gene order of the halobacterial gene cluster is similar to that in the methanogens and in eubacteria.
Halobacteria spontaneously reverse their swimming direction about every 10 s. This behavioral pattern is transiently disturbed upon stimulation through sensory photosystems of different spectral sensitivity. As a result of stimulation, a single swimming interval is either prolonged (attractant response) or shortened (repellent response). Thereafter the cell returns to its autonomous reversal rhythm, i.e., it quickly adapts. Method are presented to determine the lifetime of repellent as well as of attractant cellular signals at the site of signal integration, using particular stimulation programs. Independent of the photosystem through which the signals were generated, the total lifetime of a repellent signal was 1.3 s. The decay of the signal was rapid during the first 100 ms and slow thereafter. The lifetime of an attractant signal was about 4 s and likewise did not depend on the photosystems. The degree of methylation of membrane proteins was increased by attractant stimuli and decreased by repellent stimuli. Inhibition of protein methylation by homocysteine was accompanied by a slowdown of the decay of both the repellent and attractant signal. A mutant strain with an increased demethylation also gave increased signal lifetimes. A lowered Ca2+ concentration, which activates methylation in vivo, led to shortened signal lifetimes. Methylation is proposed to be the mechanism which limits the signal lifetime and thereby allows the cells to adapt.
In this study, we have investigated effects of volatile anesthetics on absorption spectra, proton pumping activity and decay of photointermediate M of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) in differently aggregated states. Anesthetics used in this study are ether-type general anesthetics; enflurane and sevoflurane. The observed effects on bR depend not only on variety or concentration of anesthetics but also strongly on the aggregation state of bR molecules in the membrane. In purple membrane (PM), bR having maximum light absorption at 567 nm (bR567) is formed in the presence of sevoflurane or a small amount of enflurane, while a species absorbing maximally at 480 nm (bR480) is formed upon the addition of large amounts of enflurane. X-ray diffraction studies show that the former species maintains crystallinity of PM, but the latter does not. In reconstituted vesicles where bR molecules exist as monomer, even sevoflurane forms bR480. Flash photolysis experiments show that bR567 contains a shorter-lived M intermediate absorbing maximally at 412 nm in the photoreaction cycle than bR does and that bR480 contains at least two long-lived M intermediates which seem to absorb maximally near and at lower than 380 nm. The measurements of light-induced pH changes of the whole cells and of the reconstituted vesicles in the presence of the anesthetics indicate that bR567 has a enhanced proton pumping efficiency, while bR480 has a quite low or no activity. No significant difference was observed in the anesthetic action between two inversely pumping vesicles. These observations suggest that on the formation of bR480, anesthetics enter into the membrane and affect the protein-lipid interaction.
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Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is an attractive intelligent material. Understanding the mechanism of its light-driven proton pumping outward the cell implicates it in many technical applications, particularly, in what is called optical computers, and the biotechnology is waiting for this promised biological molecule. An ionizing radiation source handling could be computerized in radiation fields. The computer containing such biological material will not be out of reach of the fields of ionizing radiation. So it is interesting to report on the working of such biological computer if it is subjected to ionizing radiation. The functional unit in this molecule is retinal chromophore. In the present work, it is interested to assess the functionality of bR through determining the electronic transition dipole moment of its chromophore. Significant changes in the values of the absorption transition dipole moment were noticed at different doses of beta-particles in the range of 0.1-0.3 kGy. Ionizing radiation-induced changes in bR were followed by intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy. An analysis of the fluorescence data bears on the tertiary structure of bR. The emission spectrum is, however, red shifted with an increase in intensity with the different doses; in the meanwhile, gradual decrease in the visible absorbance has occurred till almost complete loss is attained. This bleaching due to ionizing radiation may offer an alternative way of data processing in such optical devices based on bR. Nevertheless, bR has proofed to be used as a biological indicator of ionizing radiation. However, the potential of bR for use as a biosensor to detect ionizing radiation should be considered.
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The absorption spectrum of the primary photoproduct (the bathoproduct, or K) of the purple membrane protein (PM) at-196 degrees C has a maximum at 628 nm and an extinction coefficient of 87,000. Knowing the absorption spectrum allowed us to calculate the quantum efficiencies for PM to K and K to PM conversion at -196 degrees C. Direct measurements of these quantum yeilds at -196 degrees C gave 0.33 +/- 0.05 and 0.67 +/- 0.04, respectively. Determination of relative quantum efficiencies for PM to K and K to PM conversion by analysis of the absorption spectra of several photostationary-state mixtures of PM and K at -196 degrees C, however, gave wavelength-dependent quantum efficiencies that appear to be greater than 1. These anomolous results can be readily explained in terms of energy transfer from PM to K within the trimer clusters of pigment molecules which exist in the purple membrane. A model for such a transfer predicts an efficiency of energy transfer from PM to K of about 43%.