ABSTRACT
In this review we have focused on the advances madein observing the photo-induced response in bacteriorhodopsin and understanding the mechanisms of retinal-protein interactions which are still obscure. We discuss our recent data obtained on the wild type of bacteriorhodopsin and model compounds. This paper presents our new spectroscopic data on amino acids obtained using FT-IR emission spectroscopy. Based on the characteristics of the structure and optical properties of glycine and L-lysine that simulate a photo-induced behaviour of an opsin under natural conditions we tried to find an answer to one of the most important questions concerning the role of protein in the primary processes in bacteriorhodopsin.
Subject(s)
Bacteriorhodopsins/chemistry , Glycine/chemistry , Lysine/chemistry , Opsins/chemistry , Kinetics , Light , Opsins/metabolism , Protein Binding , Retinaldehyde/chemistry , Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform InfraredABSTRACT
A one-dimensional charge-density wave (CDW) instability is shown to be responsible for the formation of the incommensurate modulation of the atomic lattice in the high-pressure phase of sulfur. The coexistence of, and competition between, the CDW and the superconducting state leads to the previously observed increase of T{c} up to 17 K, which we attribute to the suppression of the CDW instability, the same phenomenology found in doped layered dichalcogenides.
ABSTRACT
Ga-II, the stable phase of Ga between 2 and 10 GPa at room temperature, is shown to have a complex 104-atom orthorhombic structure. A new phase, Ga-V, is found between 10 and 14 GPa, with a rhombohedral hR6 structure. Ga-II has a modulated layer structure like those recently reported for Rb-III and Cs-III, with similar 8- and 10-atom a-b layers stacked along the c axis in the sequence 8-10-8-8-10-8-8-10-8-8-10-8. The cI16 structure of Li and Na can be understood as a stacking of very similar 8-atom layers. It is suggested that a Hume-Rothery mechanism contributes to the occurrence of these complex structures in such different metals.
ABSTRACT
Tetradecapeptides (RLARLAR)2, D-(RLARLAR)2, (RLARLAA)2, and (RLGRLGR)2 were synthesized by a solid phase method using Fmoc-amino acids. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized peptides was studied against Escherichia coli cells. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was, correspondingly, 3, 1, 3, and 12 micro M, which is comparable with MIC of such natural antimicrobial peptides as temporin, magainin, and dermaseptin. It was found that all of the synthesized peptides have no effect on human erythrocytes and rat thymocytes. The peptides form alpha-helices in 30% trifluoroethanol and in 2.5 mM SDS, which have amphipathic structure.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/chemistry , Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology , Arginine/chemistry , Peptides/chemistry , Amino Acid Sequence , Amphibian Proteins/pharmacology , Animals , Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides/pharmacology , Arginine/pharmacology , Erythrocytes/drug effects , Escherichia coli/drug effects , Escherichia coli/ultrastructure , Humans , Microscopy, Electron , Molecular Sequence Data , Peptides/pharmacology , Proteins/pharmacology , Rats , T-Lymphocytes/drug effectsABSTRACT
Vibrational IR-emission spectra of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) were recorded under continuous illumination with visible light at room temperature. They contain selective information about the chromophore, Schiff base, and opsin. The spectral bands were identified by comparing the data with resonance Raman and IR absorption data. The IR-emission spectra were shown to contain a set of bands characteristic for both all-trans (bR568) and 13-cis conformations (K610-like intermediate) simultaneously. Variation of spectral composition and the intensity of visible light illumination influenced the spectral traces and intensity distribution between them. Greater intensity of deformational vibrations suggests distorted retinal structure in the vibrationally excited ground electronic state. The origin of the emitting species of bR is discussed.
Subject(s)
Bacteriorhodopsins/chemistry , Halobacterium/chemistry , Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform InfraredABSTRACT
The long-unknown crystal structure of Bi-III has been solved. It comprises a body-centered-tetragonal (bct) "host" and a bct "guest" component made up of chains that lie in channels in the host; the guest is incommensurate with the host along the tetragonal c axis. Diffraction data for Sb-II reveal that it too can be fitted with the same composite structure. The structures of these two high-pressure phases of Bi and Sb are similar to those reported recently in the alkaline-earth metals Ba and Sr.
