Search PubMedSearch

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Bacteriorhodopsin”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Association of bacteriorhodopsin with lipid-impregnated filters. Evidence for fusion of bacteriorhodopsin-containing vesicles with the lipid phase of the filter.

Bacteriorhodopsin vesicles were associated with cellulose-nitrate filters impregnated with a solution of phospholipids in hexadecane. The generation of (photo)potentials upon illumination of the filter was studied in the absence and presence of ionophores, phospholipase A2, EDTA or polyene antibiotics. From these experiments the following conclusions are drawn. 1. Upon illumination of the filter, bacteriorhodopsin pumps protons into aqueous compartments located in the filter. 2. These aqueous compartments possibly do not originate from the compartments enclosed by the bacteriorhodopsin vesicles. Evidence is obtained that aqueous compartments are present in the surface layers of the lipid-impregnated filters. 3. The results are explained most easily by a mechanism, whereby fusion occurs between the vesicles and the lipids of the filter.

Amphotericin B

Reconstitution of Biological Molecular generators of electric current. Bacteriorhodopsin.

1. Photoinduced generation of electric current by bacteriorhodopsin, incorporated into the planar phospholipid membrane, has been directly measured with conventional electrometer techniques. 2. Two methods for bacteriorhodopsin incorporation have been developed: (a) formation of planar membrane from a mixture of decane solution of phospholipids and of the fraction of violet fragments of the Halobacterium halobium membrane (bacteriorhodopsin sheets), and (b) adhesion of bacteriorhodopsin-containing reconstituted spherical membranes (proteoliposomes) to the planar membrane in the presence of Ca2+ or some other cations. In both cases, illumination was found to induce electric current generation directed across the planar membrane, an effect which was measured by macroelectrodes immersed into electrolyte solutions on both sides of the membrane. 3. The maximal values of the transmembrane electric potential were of about 150 mV at a current of about 10(-11) A. The electromotive force measured by means of counterbalancing the photoeffect by an external battery, was found to reach the value of 300 mV. 4. The action spectrum of the photoeffect coincides with the bacteriorhodopsin absorption spectrum (maximum about 570 nm). 5. Both components of the electrochemical potential of H+ ions (electric potential and delta pH) across the planar membrane affect the bacteriorhodopsin photoelectric response in a fashion which could be expected if bacteriorhodopsin were a light-dependent electrogenic proton pump. 6. La3+ ions were shown to inhibit operation of those bacteriorhodopsin which pump out H+ ions from the La3+-containing compartment. 7. The photoeffect, mediated by proteoliposomes associated with thick planar membrane, is decreased by gramicidin A at concentrations which do not influence the planar membrane resistance in the light. On the contrary, a protonophorous uncoupler, trichlorocarbonylcyanidephenylhydrazone, decreases the photoeffect only if it is added at a concentration lowering the light resistance. The dark resistance is shown to be higher than the light one, and decreases to the light level by gramicidin. 8. A simple equivalent electric scheme consistent with the above results has been proposed.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Mechanism of generation and regulation of photopotential by bacteriorhodopsin in bimolecular lipid membrane.

Photoelectric properties of bacteriorhodopsin incorporated into a bimolecular lipid membrane were investigated with special regard to the mechanism of photoelectric field generation. It was shown that besides its proton pump and electric generator functions bacteriorhodopsin works as a possible molecular regulator of the light-induced membrane potential. When a bimolecular lipid membrane containing bacteriorhodopsin is continuously illuminated in its main visible absorption band, and afterwards by superimposed blue light matching the absorption band of the long-living photobleached bacteriorhodopsin (M412) as well, the latter either enhances or decreases the steady-state photoresponse, depending upon the intensity of the green light. Thus, the additional blue-light illumination tends to cause the resultant photoelectric membrane potential to become stabilized. Two alternative schemes are tentatively proposed for the photochemical cycle of bacteriorhodopsin whereby blue light can control photovoltage generation. A kinetic model of the proton pump and the regulation of the photoelectric membrane potential is presented. This model fits all the experimental findings, even quantitatively. From the model some kinetic and physical parameters of this light-driven pump could be determined.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Formations of electrochemical proton gradient and adenosine triphosphate in proteoliposomes containing purified adenosine triphosphatase and bacteriorhodopsin.

Proteoliposome vesicles containing both bacteriorhodopsin of Halobacterium halobium and H+-translocating ATPase [EC 3.6,1.3] of a thermophilic bacterium, PS3, (TF0-F1) were reconstituted by either the dialysis method or the sonication method. Generation of the electrochemical proton gradient (deltamuH+) in these vesicles was measured using 9-aminoacridine for estimation of the chemical (deltapH) component and 8-anilinonaphthalene sulfonate for the electrical (deltaphi) component). In illuminated bacteriorhodopsin-vesicles the deltamuH+ reached 180-190 mV when reconstituted by the dialysis method and 210-220 mV when reconstituted by the sonication method. Vesicles reconstituted from both TF0-F1 and bacteriorhodopsin by the dialysis method generated a deltapH+ of about 200 mV on addition of ATP, while vesicles prepared by the sonication method generated very little deltamuH+, if any. These vesicles generated similar deltamuH+ on illumination to that found in bacteriorhodopsin-vesicles. Using vesicles reconstituted from both TF0-F1 and bacteriorhodopsin by the dialysis method, light dependent ATP synthesis was measured in relation to deltamuH+ formation. It was necessary to generate a deltamuH+ of above 170 mV for demonstration of appreciable formation of ATP and the greater the deltamuH+, the faster the rate of ATP synthesis.

Adenosine Triphosphatases

Flash photometric experiments on the photochemical cycle of bacteriorhodopsin.

The photochemical reaction cycle of bacteriorhodopsin was investigated by means of flash photometric methods. Three different intermediates with absorption maxima at about 630 nm, 411 nm, and 646 nm could be detected. Kinetic data of the occurrence of these intermediates were obtained from isolated purple membrane in different mediums and from intact halobacteria. An activation energy of 14.1 +/- 0.4 kcal-mol-1 and of about 19 kcal-mol-1 for formation of bacteriorhodopsin 411 and of bacteriorhodopsin 565, resp., was calculated. pH-changes in the medium caused by the reaction cycle of bacteriorhodopsin were detected by use of the pH-indicator bromocresol green.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Bacteriorhodopsin: lipid environment and conformational changes.

The polar lipids of the purple membrane were exchanged for different phosphatidylcholine species. The resulting complexes had the same protein to lipid-phosphorus ratio as the natural membrane, but only about 0.5-1.0 mole of original lipid was still present per mole of bacteriorhodopsin. In such complexes the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle is slowed down 10-20 times, but the strong protein-protein interaction is not abolished. Due to the slow rate of the photocycle we were able to measure in the light the ratio between net proton release and net accumulation of the last intermediate of the photocycle, the unprotonated M412. This ratio was not constant and equal to 1.0, as expected for a single deprotonation reaction, but varied with pH from 1.5 to 0.4. The variable ratio suggests that light-induced conformational changes occur in the nonchromophore part of the protein, which shift the pKa values of unidentified groups so as to cause binding or release of additional protons. A similar conclusion was drawn from experiments on the kinetics of proton transfer by bacteriorhodopsin in subbacterial particles of Halobacterium halobium and in reconstituted bacteriorhodopsin proteoliposomes. However, in this case light-induced association and dissociation of additional protons occurs simultaneously on different sides of the membrane.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Bacteriorhodopsin vesicles. An outline of the requirements for light-dependent H+ pumping.

A systematic study was performed to determine under which conditions bacteriorhodopsin can be applied as an energy generator in reconstituted systems. It is concluded that reconstitution of an active light-driven proton pump is possible over a wide range of conditions. High extents (per bacteriorhodopsin molecule) of proton uptake by reconstituted vesicles are found at a high lipid to protein ratio, after long sonication and at high pH. No active proton pump is obtained if reconstitution is attempted at high pH with neutral phospholipids or at low ionic strength with negatively charged lipids. Attention was also paid to the requirement of a crystalline array for active pumping; most likely, monomeric bacteriorhodopsin molecules can effectively pump protons.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Enthalpy changes during the photochemical cycle of bacteriorhodopsin.

We have used a capacitor microphone calorimeter to measure rapid enthalpy changes that occur when bacteriorhodopsin-containing membrane fragments are excited with short flashes of light. We resolved the enthalpy changes into three phases. At about 100 microsecond after the flash, the bacteriorhodopsins converted into metastable states have an enthalpy about 15-20 kcal mol-1 greater than the enthalpy before excitation. Some of this energy (approximately 10 kcal) is then released to the surroundings as the membrane fragments release protons to the solution. After proton release and before proton rebinding, a large amount of heat is released to the surroundings, equivalent to about 40-45 kcal/mol of bacteriorhodopsin reacting. At this point the energy of the system is about 35 kcal/mol less than it was before the flash; i.e., the system has released all of the energy of the photon (49 kcal/E) plus an additional 35 kcal/mol. Nevertheless, the free energy of the system must still be greater than it was originally, because relaxation to the original state occurs spontaneously. An entropy decrease of at least 125 cal/mol per deg is required to compensate for the heat release. An entropy decrease of this magnitude implies a major increase in molecular order in the purple membrane.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy of bacteriorhodopsin on the millisecond timescale.

A simple technique is described that uses a continuous wave laser with electromechanical modulation to obtain time-resolved Raman spectra of transient species on the millisecond timescale. The time behavior of the vibrational bands of the intermediates involved in the proton pumping of bacteriorhodopsin is determined. From these results, along with resonance enhancement and power dependence studies, the bands that appear in the continuous wave Raman spectrum of bacteriorhodopsin can be assigned to three intermediates in the photochemical cycle of bacteriorhodopsin, bR570, bL550, and bM412. The Raman spectra of bR570 and bM412 are compared with published spectra of model Schiff bases of all-trans and 13-cis retinal.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Orientation of bacteriorhodopsin in Halobacterium halobium as studied by selective proteolysis.

The orientation of bacteriorhodopsin in the purple membrane of Halobacterium halobium has been studied by proteolytic degradation of purple membrane sheets, reconstituted vesicles, and whole cells, with the following results: (i) Bacteriorhodopsin in purple membrane sheets is cleaved at a single site by Pronase or trypsin; a polypeptide segment of about 15 amino acids is lost from the carboxyl end. Carboxypeptidase A sequentially releases amino acids from the carboxyl end; the tetrapeptide sequence -Ala-Ala-Thr-Ser(COOH) was tentatively deduced for this terminus. (ii) The apomembrane, which lacks retinal, undergoes a second cleavage with trypsin releasing a fragment of approximately 6300 molecular weight from the amino terminus. (iii) Vesicles reconstituted from the purple membrane sheets and synthetic lecithins, in which the direction of proton pumping is opposite to that in the whole cells, have the carboxyl terminus of bacteriorhodopsin accessible to proteolysis. (iv) In envelope vesicles, which largely pump protons in the same direction as the whole cells, the carboxyl terminus is largely protected against proteolysis. (v) Treatment of whole cells with proteinase K hydrolyzes the cell wall proteins but has no effect on acteriorhodopsin. However, the same treatment after lysis of the cells results in degradation of the hydrophilic region at the carboxyl terminus. The results show that the carboxyl terminus as well as the additional cleavage site near the amino terminus observed in apomembrane are on the cytoplasmic side of the purple membrane.

Apoproteins

Photoisomerization, energy storage, and charge separation: a model for light energy transduction in visual pigments and bacteriorhodopsin.

A simple model for the early events in visual pigments and bacteriorhodopsin is proposed. The model makes use of the likelihood that a negatively charged amino acid forms a salt bridge with the positively charged nitrogen of the retinylic chromophore. The photochemical event is a cis-trans isomerization in visual pigments and a trans-cis isomerization in bacteriorhodopsin, which in each case cleaves the salt bridge and thus separates charge in the interior of the protein. We propose that this is how the energy of a photon is transduced into chemical free energy of the primary photoproduct. The use of photoisomerization of a flexible chromophore to achieve charge separation provides a general mechanism which may be applicable to other systems. Our model explains many of the fundamental properties of visual pigments and their photoproducts. First, the extraordinarily low rate of thermally populating the ground state of the primary photoproduct, as determined from psychophysical and electrophysiological measurements, is seen as resulting from the large barrier to thermal isomerization about a double bond, perhaps enhanced by electrostatic attraction in the salt bridge. Second, the increase in energy and the spectral red shift that characterize the primary photochemical events are natural consequences of the separation of charge. Proton-dependent processes detected with picosecond techniques are proposed to be ground-state relaxation processes following the primary photochemical event. Finally, the charged groups of the salt bridge, repositioned by photoisomerization, provide a simple mechanism for vectorial proton translocation in bacteriorhodopsin.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Time-resolved resonance Raman characterization of the bL550 intermediate and the two dark-adapted bRDA/560 forms of bacteriorhodopsin.

The resonance Raman spectrum of the second intermediate in the bacteriorhodopsin cycle, bL550, is obtained by a simple flow technique. The Schiff base linkage in this intermediate appears to be protonated, contrary to previous suggestion. The fingerprint region of the spectrum of bL550 does not closely match those of any presently available model Schiff bases of retinal isomers, though some comparisons can be made. The resonance Raman spectrum of dark-adapted bacteriorhodopsin is obtained and decomposed by computer subtraction of the spectrum of bR570. The remaining spectrum does not match the spectra of any model compounds presently in the literature. The spectra of bL550 and dark-adapted bRDA/560 from purple membrane in H2O are compared to those in D2O. It is found that changes in the spectrum occur in the 1,600 - 1,650 cm-1 region as well as in the 800 - 1,000 cm-1 region, but apparently not in the fingerprint region (1,100 - 1,400 cm-1). The possibilities of conformational changes of the retinal chromophore in the light adaptation process as well as the photosynthetic cycle are discussed.

Bacteriorhodopsins

The quantum yield of flash-induced proton release by bacteriorhodopsin-containing membrane fragments.

The quantum yield of proton release by bacteriorhodopsin was measured from volume changes after excitation of purple membrane fragments by short flashes. At low ionic strengths, about 0.25 mol of protons is released per einstein absorbed. This agrees well with quantum yields reported recently for the conversion of bacteriorhodopsin into a metastable state (M) that absorbs near 412 nm. However, the quantum yield of proton release increases gradually with increasing ionic strength; it plateaus with a value of 0.43 +/- 0.03 at ionic strengths above 200 mM. Changing the ionic strength has no detectable effect on the quantum yield of formation of the M spectral state. It thus appears that as many as two protons can be released and rebound in each photochemical cycle at high ionic strengths. The quantum yield of proton release is essentially independent of pH over the range 6.0-8.75. The quantum yield decreases with increasing flash strength, apparently due to photoreversal of the initial photochemical reaction.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Bacteriorhodopsin in model membranes. A new component of the displacement photocurrent in the microsecond time scale.

A quasi-short-circuit (tunable voltage clamp) measurement method with microsecond time resolution was applied to a bacteriorhodopsin model membrane formed by a novel interfacial technique. A new component (B1) of the displacement photocurrent was recorded: it has no detectable latency at an instrumental time constant of 1.5 museconds, and persists at 5 degrees C. In addition, a slower component (B2) of opposite polarity inhibited by low temperature (5 degrees C) and low pH (pH = 3.0) was recorded. The technique is very sensitive for the study of fast capacitative photoresponses in model membranes, and allows the detection of charge displacements in bacteriorhodopsin associated with distinct stages of the photochemical transformation.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Molecular weight of bacteriorhodopsin solubilized in Triton X-100.

Bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium halobium has been solubilized in the nonionic detergent Triton X-100. The circular dichroic spectrum and hydrodynamic properties indicate that the structure of this protein in the detergent is not significantly altered from that of the native membrane-bound form. Bacteriorhodopsin is monomeric under the conditions of solubilization with a molecular weight of 24,250+/-2,000 and binds approximately one micelle of Triton X-100.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Partial primary structure of bacteriorhodopsin: sequencing methods for membrane proteins.

The sequence of 102 amino acid residues from the NH2 terminus and that of 39 amino acid residues from the COOH terminus of bacteriorhodopsin have been determined. These results are in agreement with those recently published by Ovchinnikov and coworkers [Ovchinnikov, Y.A., Abdulaey, N.G., Feigina, M.Y., Kiselev, A.V. & Lobanov, N.A. (1977) FEBS Lett. 84, 1-4]. Chymotryptic cleavage of bacteriorhodopsin produced two fragments, C-1 (Mr 19,000) and C-2 (Mr 6900), the latter containing the blocked NH2 terminus (pyroglutamic acid). Further fragmentation with CNBr gave mostly hydrophobic fragments, which were separated by gel permeation and reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography in formic acid/ethanol/water mixtures. The fragments were sequenced by a judicious combination of mass spectrometric peptide sequencing and automated Edman degradation. The C-2 fragments were ordered on the basis of methionine-containing peptides identified by gas chromatographic mass spectrometry, while C-1 and C-2 were arranged by analysis of an overlapping CNBr fragment.

Amino Acid Sequence

The photochemical cycle of bacteriorhodopsin.

The reaction cycle of bacteriorhodopsin in the purple membrane isolated from Halobacterium halobium has been studied by optical absorption spectroscopy using low-temperature and flash kinetic techniques. After absorption of light, bacteriohodopsin passes through at least five distinct intermediates. The temperature and pH dependence of the absorbance changes suggests that branch points and/or reversible steps exist in this cycle. Flash spectroscopy in the presence of a pH-indicating dye shows that the transient release of a proton accompanies the photoreaction cycle. The proton release occurs from the exterior and the uptake is on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane, as required by the function of bacteriorhodopsin as a light-driven proton pump. Proton translocating steps connecting release and uptake are indicated by deuterium isotope effects on the kinetics of the cycle. The rapid decay of a light-induced linear dichroism shows that a chromophore orientation change occurs during the reaction cycle.

Bacteriorhodopsins

Formation of ATP by the adenosine triphosphatase complex from spinach chloroplasts reconstituted together with bacteriorhodopsin.

The energy-linked ATPase complex has been isolated from spinach chloroplasts. This protein complex contained all the subunits of the chloroplast coupling factor (CF1) as well as several hydrophobic compoenents. When the activated complex was reconstituted with added soybean phospholipids, it catalyzed the exchange of radioactive inorganic phosphate with ATP. Sonication of the complex into proteoliposomes together with bacteriorhodopsin yield vesicles that catalyzed light-dependent ATP formation. Both the 32Pi-ATP exchange reactions and ATP formation were sensitive to uncouplers such as 3-tert-butyl-5,2'-dichloro-4'-nitrosalicylanilide, bis-(hexafluoroacetonyl)acetone and carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-hydrazone, that act to dissipate a proton gradient. The energy transfer inhibitors dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, triphenyltin chloride and 2-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-4,6'-dihydroxydihydrochalcone were also effective inhibitors of both reactions.

Adenosine Triphosphatases