Contribution of extracellular Glu residues to the structure and function of bacteriorhodopsin. Presence of specific cation-binding sites.

Single and multiple mutants of extracellular Glu side chains of bacteriorhodopsin were analyzed by acid and calcium titration, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermal difference spectrophotometry. Acid titration spectra show that the second group protonating with Asp(85) is revealed in E204Q in the absence of Cl(-) but is not observed in the triple mutant E9Q/E194Q/E204Q or in the quadruple mutant E9Q/E74Q/E194Q/E204Q. The results point to Glu(9) as the second group protonating cooperatively with Asp(85). Comparison of the apparent pK(a) of Asp(85) protonation in water and in the deionized forms and results of calcium titration suggest that cation-binding sites are of low affinity in the multiple Glu mutants. Like for deionized wild type bacteriorhodopsin, differential scanning calorimetry reveals a lack of the pretransition in the multiple mutants, whereas in E9Q it appears at lower temperature and with lower cooperativity. Additionally, at neutral pH the band at 630 nm arising from cation release upon temperature increase is absent for the multiple mutants. Based on these results, we propose the presence of two cation-binding sites in the extracellular region of bacteriorhodopsin having as ligands Glu(9), Glu(194), Glu(204), and water molecules.

Opening the Schiff base moiety of bacteriorhodopsin by mutation of the four extracellular Glu side chains.

The quadruple bacteriorhodopsin (BR) mutant E9Q+E74Q+E194Q+E204Q shows a lambda(max) of about 500 nm in water at neutral pH and a great influence of pH and salts on the visible absorption spectrum. Accessibility to the Schiff base is strongly increased, as detected by the rapid bleaching effect of hydroxylamine in the dark as well as in light. Both the proton release kinetics and the photocycle are altered, as indicated by a delayed proton release after proton uptake and changed M kinetics. Moreover, affinity of the color-controlling cation(s) is found to be decreased. We suggest that the four Glu side chains are essential elements of the extracellular structure of BR.

Experimental and theoretical characterization of the high-affinity cation-binding site of the purple membrane.

Binding of Mn2+ or Mg2+ to the high-affinity site of the purple membrane from Halobacterium salinarium has been studied by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry or by ab initio quantum mechanical calculations, respectively. The binding of Mn2+ cation, in a low-spin state, to the high-affinity site occurs through a major octahedral local symmetry character with a minor rhombic distortion and a coordination number of six. A molecular model of this binding site in the Schiff base vicinity is proposed. In this model, a Mg2+ cation interacts with one oxygen atom of the side chain of Asp85, with both oxygen atoms of Asp212 and with three water molecules. One of these water molecules is hydrogen bonded to both the nitrogen of the protonated Schiff base and the Asp85 oxygen. It could serve as a shuttle for the Schiff base proton to move to Asp85 in the L-M transition.

Scanning calorimetry and Fourier-transform infrared studies into the thermal stability of cleaved bacteriorhodopsin systems.

Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy have been used to characterize the thermal stability of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) cleaved within different loops connecting the helical rods. The results are compared to those of the native protein. We show that the denaturation temperature and enthalpy of BR cleaved at peptide bond 71-72 or 155-156 are lower than those of the intact protein, and that these values become even lower for the BR cleaved at both peptide bonds. The effect of cleavage on the denaturation temperature and enthalpy values seems to be additive as has been previously suggested [Khan, T. W., Sturtevant, J. M., & Engelman, D. M. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 8829]. The thermal denaturation of all the samples was irreversible and scan-rate dependent. When cleaved at the 71-72 bond BR follows quantitatively the predictions of the two-state kinetic model at pH 9.5, with an activation energy of 374 kJ/mol, similar to that of native BR. Calorimetry experiments with different populations of intact and cleaved BR provide direct evidence for some intermolecular cooperativity upon denaturation. The denatured samples maintain a large proportion of alpha helices and beta structure, a fact which seems to be related to their low denaturation enthalpy as compared to that of water-soluble, globular proteins.

An extended x-ray absorption fine structure study of the high-affinity cation-binding site in the purple membrane.

The structure of the high-affinity cation-binding site of bacteriorhodopsin was studied using extended x-ray absorption fine structure techniques. The results obtained for Mn2+ in aqueous solution and for the complex BR-Mn2+ (1:1 molar ratio) show great similarities, suggesting that Mn2+, when bound to this site, is coordinated with six atoms of oxygen, forming an octahedral disposition. The interatomic distance between the atoms of oxygen and the Mn2+ was found to be 2.17 A for the complex BR-Mn2+, similar to Mn2+ in solution (2.15 A). In addition, the absence of any other peak at greater distances in the Fourier-transformed spectrum indicates that neither phosphorus nor sulphur atoms are present in the second coordination shell. This suggests that this binding site is located in the protein, discarding the proximity of lipid polar headgroups.

Conformational changes in bacteriorhodopsin associated with protein-protein interactions: a functional alpha I-alpha II helix switch?

Fourier transform infrared spectra of bacteriorhodopsin samples were obtained in conditions in which the aggregation state of the protein (i.e., monomeric or trimeric) was modified by different treatments. Two approaches were followed: (1) renaturation of bacteriorhodopsin starting from bacterioopsin dissolved in SDS and (2) reconstitution of bacterioopsin in Halobacterium lipid liposomes at two different lipid/protein ratios. Concomitant with the gradual recovery of the native interactions between transmembrane helices, we observed clear and gradual changes in the infrared absorption spectra in the amide I band and also in the band at 1741 cm-1. These processes were found to be compatible with the two-state oligomerization model. The whole set of experiments shows that the band at 1665 cm-1 in the deconvoluted spectra appears only when monomers interact forming trimers, even when the lattice is not present. This implies that the trimeric organization of bacteriorhodopsin is responsible for the unique features described in the amide I of purple membrane. The spectroscopic changes detected can be attributed to changes in secondary structure compatible with the interconversion of alpha I and alpha II helices. However, the exact nature and functional relevance of these changes is still unknown.