Biophysical Journal 60: 989-1001 (1991)
© 1991 the Biophysical Society

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Structural investigation of bacteriorhodopsin and some of its photoproducts by polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic methods-difference spectroscopy and photoselection

Institut für Biophysik und Strahlenbiologie der Universität Freiburg, Albertstraße 23, D-7800 Freiburg i. Brsg.
Physikdepartment T30, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Strasse, D-8046 Garching, Germany

ABSTRACT

The direction of selected IR-transition moments of the retinal chromophore of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) and functional active amino acid residues are determined for light- and dark-adapted BR and for the intermediates K and L of the photocycle. Torsions around single bonds of the chromophore are found to be present in all the investigated BR states. The number of twisted single bonds and the magnitude of these torsions decreases in the order K, L, light-adapted BR, dark-adapted BR. In the last, only the C₁₄—C₁₅ single bond is twisted. The orientation of molecular planes and chemical bonds of such protein side chains, which are perturbed during the transition of light-adapted BR to the respective intermediates, are deduced and the results compared with the current three dimensional model of BR. Trp 86 and Trp 185 are found to form a rigid part of the protein, whereas Asp 96 and Asp 115 perform molecular rearrangements upon formation of the L-intermediate.