Differences in the photobleaching process between 7-cis- and 11-cis-rhodopsins: a unique interaction change between the chromophore and the protein during the lumi-meta I transition.

The photochemical and subsequent thermal reactions of 7-cis-rhodopsin prepared from cattle opsin and 7-cis-retinal were investigated by low-temperature spectrophotometry and laser photolysis, and compared with those of 11-cis-rhodopsin prepared from cattle opsin and 11-cis-retinal. Low-temperature experiments revealed that the absorption maxima of batho and lumi intermediates from 7-cis-rhodopsin were at slightly shorter wavelengths than those of 11-cis-rhodopsin while the meta I intermediates of both rhodopsin isomers showed the same absorption maxima. Kinetic experiments of the photobleaching process of 7-cis-rhodopsin using picosecond and nanosecond laser pulses revealed the formation of intermediates corresponding to the batho, lumi, meta I, and meta II intermediates from 11-cis-rhodopsin. An intermediate of 7-cis-rhodopsin corresponding to photorhodopsin (a precursor of bathorhodopsin), however, was not detected. Batho and lumi intermediates from 7-cis-rhodopsin had shorter lifetimes (approximately 40 ns and 300 microseconds) than those of 11-cis-rhodopsin (250 ns and 800 microseconds), but the lifetime of the meta I intermediate from 7-cis-rhodopsin was identical with that from 11-cis-rhodopsin (12 ms). These results indicate that the difference in configuration of the original chromophore between 7-cis- and 11-cis-rhodopsins is a cause of different chromophore-opsin interactions in the batho and lumi stages, while in the meta I stage the difference has disappeared by the relaxation of the protein near the chromophores. A possible interaction change between the 9-methyl group of the chromophore and its neighboring protein during the lumi-meta I transition will be discussed.     

Transient and linear dichroism studies on bacteriorhodopsin: determination of the orientation of the 568 nm all-trans retinal chromophore

The orientation of the 568 nm transition dipole moment of the retinal chromophore of bacteriorhodopsin has been determined in purple membranes from Halobacterium halobium and in reconstituted vesicles. The angle between the 568 nm transition dipole moment and the normal to the plane of the membrane was measured in two different ways.In the first method the angle was obtained from transient dichroism measurements on bacteriorhodopsin incorporated into large phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Following flash excitation with linearly polarized light, the anisotropy of the 568 nm ground-state depletion signal first decays but then reaches a time-independent value. This result, obtained above the lipid phase transition, is interpreted as arising from rotational motion of bacteriorhodopsin which is confined to an axis normal to the plane of the membrane. It is shown that the relative amplitude of the time-independent component depends on the orientation of the 568 nm transition dipole moment. From the data an angle of 78 ° ± 3 ° is determined.In the second method the linear dichroism was measured as a function of the angle of tilt between the oriented purple membranes and the direction of the light beam. The results were corrected for the angular distribution of the membranes within the oriented samples, which was determined from the mosaic spread of the first-order lamellar neutron diffraction peak. In substantial agreement with the results of the transient dichroism method, linear dichroism measurements on oriented samples lead to an angle of 71 ° ± 4 °.No significant wavelength dependence of the dichroic ratio across the 568 nm band was observed, implying that the exciton splitting in this band must be substantially smaller than the recently suggested value of 20 nm (Ebrey et al., 1977).The orientation of the 568 nm transition dipole moment, which coincides with the direction of the all-trans polyene chain of retinal, is not only of interest in connection with models for the proton pump, but can also be used to calculate the inter-chromophore distances in the purple membrane.     

Simulation of saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance spectra for rotational motion with restricted angular amplitude.

We have simulated both conventional (V1) and saturation transfer (V'2) electron paramagnetic resonance spectra for the case of Brownian rotational diffusion restricted in angular amplitude. Numerical solutions of the diffusion-coupled Bloch equations were obtained for an axially symmetric 14N nitroxide spin label with its principal axis rotating within a Gaussian angular distribution of full width delta theta at half maximum. Spectra were first calculated for a macroscopically oriented system with cylindrical symmetry (e.g., a bundle of muscle fibers or a stack of membrane bilayers), with the Gaussian angular distribution centered at theta 0 with respect to the magnetic field. These spectra were then summed over theta 0 to obtain the spectrum of a randomly oriented sample (e.g., a dispersion of myofibrils or membrane vesicles). The angular amplitude delta theta was varied from 0 degrees, corresponding to isotropic motion (order parameter = 0). For each value of delta theta, the rotational correlation time, tau r, was varied from 10(-7) to 10(-2) s, spanning the range from maximal to minimal saturation transfer. We provide plots that illustrate the dependence of spectral parameters on delta theta and tau r. For an oriented system, the effects of changing delta theta and tau r are easily distinguishable, and both parameters can be determined unambiguously by comparing simulated and experimental spectra. For a macroscopically disordered system, the simulated spectra are still quite sensitive to delta theta, but a decrease in tau r produces changes similar to those from an increase in delta theta. If delta theta can be determined independently, then the results of the present study can be used to determine tau r from experimental spectra. Similarly, if tau r is known, then delta theta can be determined.     

The photobleaching sequence of a short-wavelength visual pigment.

The photobleaching pathway of a short-wavelength cone opsin purified in delipidated form (lambda(max) = 425 nm) is reported. The batho intermediate of the violet cone opsin generated at 45 K has an absorption maximum at 450 nm. The batho intermediate thermally decays to the lumi intermediate (lambda(max) = 435 nm) at 200 K. The lumi intermediate decays to the meta I (lambda(max) = 420 nm) and meta II (lambda(max) = 388 nm) intermediates at 258 and 263 K, respectively. The meta II intermediate decays to free retinal and opsin at >270 K. At 45, 75, and 140 K, the photochemical excitation of the violet cone opsin at 425 nm generates the batho intermediate at high concentrations under moderate illumination. The batho intermediate spectra, generated via decomposing the photostationary state spectra at 45 and 140 K, are identical and have properties typical of batho intermediates of other visual pigments. Extended illumination of the violet cone opsin at 75 K, however, generates a red-shifted photostationary state (relative to both the dark and the batho intermediates) that has as absorption maximum at approximately 470 nm, and thermally reverts to form the normal batho intermediate when warmed to 140 K. We conclude that this red-shifted photostationary state is a metastable state, characterized by a higher-energy protein conformation that allows relaxation of the all-trans chromophore into a more planar conformation. FTIR spectroscopy of violet cone opsin indicates conclusively that the chromophore is protonated. A similar transformation of the rhodopsin binding site generates a model for the VCOP binding site that predicts roughly 75% of the observed blue shift of the violet cone pigment relative to rhodopsin. MNDO-PSDCI calculations indicate that secondary interactions involving the binding site residues are as important as the first-order chromophore protein interactions in mediating the wavelength maximum.     

13C NMR Chemical Shifts of the Triclinic and Monoclinic Crystal forms of Valinomycin

Two different crystalline polymorphs of valinomycin, the triclinic and monoclinic forms, have been studied by high resolution, solid state (13)C CP-MAS NMR spectroscopy. Although the two polymorphs of the crystal are remarkably similar, there are distinct differences in the isotropic chemical shifts between the two spectra. For the triclinic form, the carbon chemical shift tensor components for the alpha carbons adjacent to oxygen in the lactic acid and hydroxyisovaleric acid residues and the ester carbonyls of the valine residue were obtained using the FIREMAT experiment. From the measured components, it was found that the behavior of the isotropic chemical shift, delta(iso), for valine residue ester carbonyl carbons is predominately influenced by the intermediate component, delta(22). Additionally it was found that the smallest shift component, delta(33), for the L -lactic acid ( L -Lac) and D -alpha-hydroxyisovaleric acid ( D -Hyi) C(alpha)-O carbon was significantly displaced depending upon the nature of individual amino acid residues, and it is the delta(33) component that governs the behavior of delta(iso) in these alpha carbons.     

Spectroscopic study of the batho-to-lumi transition during the photobleaching of rhodopsin using ring-modified retinal analogues

Photochemical and subsequent thermal reactions of rhodopsin containing 9-cis-retinal [Rh(9)] or one of four analogues with 9-cis geometries formed from ring-modified retinals, alpha-retinal [alpha Rh(9)], acyclic retinal [AcRh(9)], acyclic alpha-retinal [Ac alpha Rh(9)], and 5-isopropyl-alpha-retinal [P alpha Rh(9)] were investigated by low-temperature spectrophotometry and nanosecond laser photolysis. Irradiation of each pigment at -180 degrees C produced a photosteady-state mixture containing the original 9-cis pigment, its 11-cis pigment, and a photoproduct, indicating that the primary process of each pigment is a photoisomerization of its chromophore. The photoproduct produced by the irradiation of AcRh(9) had an absorption spectrum red shifted from the original AcRh(9) and was identified as the batho intermediate of AcRh(9). It was converted to the lumi intermediate through a metastable species, the BL intermediate, which has never been detected in Rh(9) at low temperature and whose absorption maximum was at shorter wavelengths than that of the batho intermediate. In contrast, the absorption maxima of the photoproducts produced from the other analogue pigments were at shorter wavelengths than those of the original pigments. They were identified as BL intermediates on the basis of their absorption maxima and thermal stabilities. The formation time constant of the lumi intermediate at room temperature was found to be dependent on the extent of modification of the ring portion of the chromophore, decreasing with the complete truncation of the cyclohexenyl ring [Ac alpha Rh(9)] and increasing with the attachment of the isopropyl group to the ring [P alpha Rh(9)].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Orientation of retinal in purple membrane determined by polarized Raman spectroscopy.

The orientation of the retinal molecule in the purple membrane was determined by polarized Raman spectroscopy for stacked purple membranes. The depolarization ratios of C = C stretching vibration mode were measured for three scattering geometries of purple membrane films. From the depolarization ratios we estimated the tilt angle of the transition dipole moment of retinal to the membrane normal and the rotational angle of the molecular plane along the transition dipole moment of retinal. The molecular plane of M intermediate was found to be almost perpendicular to the membrane plane. We confirmed that the tilt angle was 65 +/- 2 degrees for both bR and M intermediates.     

Volume and enthalpy changes after photoexcitation of bovine rhodopsin: laser-induced optoacoustic studies.

Laser-induced optoacoustic measurements were performed with bovine rhodopsin in the temperature range 5-32 degrees C in its natural environment (i.e., in washed membranes) as well as solubilized in dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside. A signal deconvolution procedure using a simple sequential kinetic scheme for the photobaric time evolution revealed, in the case of the washed membranes, the presence of an intermediate with a 14-ns lifetime at 25 degrees C, of the same order as that reported for the BSI intermediate in solubilized rhodopsin (Hug, S. J., W. J. Lewis, C. M. Einterz, T. E. Thorgeirsson, and D. S. Kliger. 1990. Nanosecond photolysis of rhodopsin: evidence for a new, blue-shifted intermediate. Biochemistry. 29:1475-1485), with an energy content of (85 +/- 20) kJ/mol, and accompanied by an expansion of 26 +/- 3 ml/mol. The difference in energy content between BSI and the next transient lumi was estimated in only -1 +/- 5 kJ/mol, concomitant with an expansion of 9 +/- 3 ml/mol. Thus, this transition, which according to literature involves an equilibrium, should be controlled by an entropic change, rather than by an enthalpic difference. This is supported by the fact that both activation parameters for the decay of batho and BSI decrease upon solubilization. For detergent-solubilized rhodopsin, two time constants were enough to fit the sample signal. A short lifetime ascribable to BSI was not detected in this case. For the first intermediate (probably batho in equilibrium with BSI), an energy content of 50 +/- 20 kJ/mol and an expansion of 20 +/- 1 ml/mol, and for lumi an energy content of 11 +/- 20 kJ/mol and a further expansion of 11 +/- 2 ml/mol were determined. Thus, the intermediates of the membrane-embedded form of rhodopsin (in contrast to solubilized samples) are kept in a higher energy level, although the total expansion from rhodopsin to lumi is similar for both conditions (35 +/- 6 and 31 +/- 3 ml/mol). The expansions are interpreted as protein reorganization processes as a consequence of the photoisomerization of the chromophore. As a result, weak interactions are probably perturbed and the protein gains conformational flexibility.     

Disorder influence on linear dichroism analyses of smectic phases

Linear dichroism, the unequal absorption of parallel and perpendicular linear polarized light, is often used to determine the anisotropic ordering of rodlike polymers in a smectic phase, such as helices in a lipid bilayer. It is a measure of two properties of the sample: 1), orientation of the chromophore transition dipole moment (TDM) and 2), disorder. Since it is the orientation of the chromophore TDM that is needed for high resolution structural studies, it is imperative to either deconvolve sample disorder, or at a minimum, estimate its effect upon the calculated TDM orientation. Herein, a rigorous analysis of the effects of disorder is undertaken based on the recently developed Gaussian disorder model implemented in linear dichroism data. The calculation of both the rod tilt and rotational pitch angles as a function of the disorder and dichroism, yield the following conclusions: Disorders smaller than 5 degrees have a vanishingly small effect on the calculated polymer orientation, whereas values smaller than 10 degrees have a negligible effect on the calculated parameters. Disorders larger than 10 degrees have an appreciable effect on the calculated orientational parameters and as such must be estimated before any structural characterization. Finally the theory is tested on the HIV vpu transmembrane domain, employing experimental mosaicity measurements from x-ray reflectivity rocking scans and linear dichroism.     

Orientation of the bacteriorhodopsin chromophore probed by polarized Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy

Polarized, low-temperature Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectroscopy has been used to investigate the structure of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) as it undergoes phototransitions from the light-adapted state, bR570, to the K630 and M412 intermediates. The orientations of specific retinal chromophore and protein groups relative to the membrane plane were calculated from the linear dichroism of the infrared bands, which correspond to the vibrational modes of those groups. The linear dichroism of the chromophore C=C and C-C stretching modes indicates that the long axis of the polyene chain is oriented at 20-25 degrees from the membrane plane at 250 K and that it orients more in-plane when the temperature is reduced to 81 K. The polyene plane is found to be approximately perpendicular to the membrane plane from the linear dichroism calculations of the HOOP (hydrogen out-of-plane) wags. The orientation of the transition dipole moments of chromophore vibrations in the K630 and M412 intermediates has been probed, and the dipole moment direction of the C=O bond of an aspartic acid that is protonated in the bR570----M412 transition has been measured.     

A comparison of the second harmonic generation from light-adapted, dark-adapted, blue, and acid purple membrane.

The second order nonlinear polarizability and dipole moment changes upon light excitation of light-adapted bacteriorhodopsin (BR), dark-adapted BR, blue membrane, and acid purple membrane have been measured by second harmonic generation. Our results indicate that the dipole moment changes of the retinal chromophore, delta mu, are very sensitive to both the chromophore structure and protein/chromophore interactions. Delta mu of light-adapted BR is larger than that of dark-adapted BR. The acid-induced formation of the blue membrane results in an increase in the delta mu value, and formation of acid purple membrane, resulting from further reduction of pH to 0, returns the delta mu to that of light-adapted BR. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Linear dichroism of chicken cytosol aspartate aminotransferase oriented in polyacrylamide gel

Cytosolic chicken heart aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1) was incorporated in polyacrylamide gel and partially oriented by compressing the gel block in two mutually perpendicular directions. The linear dichroism (LD) was recorded in a dichrograph equipped with a quarter-wavelength device which transforms circularly polarized light into linearly polarized. Spectra were resolved with lognormal distribution curves. A marked difference has been found between reduced linear dichroism values (LD/A) in the absorption bands of the protonated (430 nm) and nonprotonated (360 nm) forms of the internal pyridoxal phosphate--lysine aldimine. This finding indicates that protonation of the internal aldimine bond induces a change in direction of the transition dipole moment within the coenzyme ring or reorientation of the ring. Formation of the external aldimine with 2-methylaspartate is accompanied by a decrease of the reduced LD value in the 430 nm band. On the other hand, binding of the dicarboxylate anions, which imitates formation of the noncovalent adsorption Michaelis complex, results in a marked increase of the reduced LD value in the 430 nm band. These data suggest that the coenzyme ring tilts in opposite directions upon noncovalent substrate binding and upon subsequent formation of the external aldimine.     

Coenzyme reorientations in the active sites of aspartate aminotransferase isoenzymes studied by linear dichroism method

Cytosolic and mitochondrial pig heart aspartate aminotransferases (cAspAT and mAspAT) and chicken heart cAspAT have been oriented in a compressed slab of polyacrylamide gel and their linear dichroism LD spectra have been recorded. The coenzyme's tilt angles in the active sites of chicken cAspAT and pig mAspAT and their quasisubstrate complexes imitating catalytic intermediates have been computed. The computations are based on reduced linear dichroism values (delta A/A), the known directions of the transition dipole moments in the coenzyme ring and atomic coordinates of the coenzyme obtained by X-ray crystallography. It has been found that formation of the enzyme complex with glutarate and protonation of the internal pyridoxal-lysine aldimine induce reorientations of the coenzyme. As a result of protonation, the coenzyme ring tilts by 27 degrees in cAspAT and 13 degrees in mAspAT. Formation of the external aldimine with 2-methylaspartate is accompanied by tilting of the coenzyme ring by 44 degrees in cAspAT and 39 degrees in mAspAT. For the quinonoid complex with erythro-3-hydroxyaspartate, the tilt angles were found to be 63 degrees in cAspAT and 53 degrees in mAspAT. It is inferred that the basic features of the active site dynamics are similar in the three AspAT's studied. The differences in the coenzyme tilt angles between cAspAT and mAspAT may be linked to catalytic and structural peculiarities of the isoenzymes.     

Electric, optical and hydrodynamic parameters of lac repressor from measurements of the electric dichroism. High permanent dipole moment associated with the protein

Lac repressor and its tryptic core have been investigated by electro-optical methods. The reduced dichroism measured as a function of the electric field strength is not consistent with an induced dipole, but indicates the existence of a strong permanent dipole moment (approximately 4 X 10(-27) C m) for the holo-repressor, which is almost independent of ion concentration and pH. A dominant contribution of a permanent dipole is also demonstrated by the shape of the dichroism rise curve. The experimental data are not consistent with a counterion polarization phenomenon and also do not indicate a major contribution from proton fluctuations. Probably the nature of the dipole is similar to that found for compounds with a tetrahedral substitution by angular residues. Other potential models involve large conformational fluctuations or inherent asymmetry of the lac repressor. Rotation time constants obtained from the dichroism decay are not consistent with a spherical shape, for either the holo- or core repressor. A simple interpretation of the data by prolate ellipsoids suggests a short diameter of 6 nm for both holo- and core repressor and long diameters of 14 and 12 nm for holo- and core repressor, respectively. Addition of the inducer isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside leads to a change of the limit dichroism, but does not affect the rotation time constants within experimental accuracy.     

Comparisons between oriented film and solution tertiary structure of various nucleic acids

We have considered whether or not the tertiary structure of a biomolecule is the same in a crystal (or an oriented film) as it is in solution. A methodology has been developed for comparing polarized absorption spectra obtained from a solid-state sample with those obtained from an oriented solute to further resolve this question. An electric dichroism instrument built in our laboratory was used to measure the solution dichroism signal which, along with the ordinary solution uv absorption spectra, yields polarized absorption spectra in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the applied electric field. These were then compared to polarized absorption data from oriented films of nucleic acids to determine whether the two sets of data could be rotated into coincidence. This rotation was accomplished using a computer program based on a nonlinear programming method. Four nucleic acids were studied and the film and solution data for three of these were found to be equivalent, requiring rotation through an angle of 3°?20°, depending on film humidity, to bring them into coincidence. For the fourth sample we were unable, perhaps because of signal-to-noise ratio limitations, to find a correlation. Flow dichroism and electric dichroism data were also found to be quite similar. Thus it is clear that the induced dipole moment is along the helical axis and that the physical, hydrodynamical, and electrical axes of the nucleic acid molecules are equivalent.     

Photoelectron circular dichroism: Chiral asymmetry in the angular distribution of electrons emitted by (+)-S-carvone

The technique of photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) is introduced and illustrated by the presentation of results obtained for the C 1s core ionization of (+)-S-carvone enantiomers. Using circularly polarized ionizing radiation, large chiral effects in the angular distribution of photoelectrons emitted from a dilute, randomly oriented gas phase sample can be detected. This effect is predicted in the pure electric dipole approximation and is expected to be quite general. The forward-backward asymmetry regularly exceeds 10%, as demonstrated here for the carbonyl C 1s photoemission of carvone. Calculations are presented that reveal a pronounced dependence of this effect on molecular conformation. In the case of carvone the PECD associated with the C 1s electron localized at the carbonyl group varies with orientation of the isopropenyl tail group at the opposite end of the molecule. Comparisons of calculations with experiment confirm the molecular configuration and permit inferences to be drawn concerning the relative conformer populations in the experimental sample.     

Orientation of emitting dipoles of chlorophyll A in thylakoids: considerations on the orientation factor in vivo.

Orientation angles of five emitting dipoles of chlorophyll a in thylakoids were estimated from low temperature fluorescence polarization ratio spectra of magnetically oriented chloroplasts. A simple expression is given also for the evaluation of data from linear dichroism measurements. It is shown that the Qy dipoles of chlorophylls lie more in the plane of the membranes and span a larger angular interval than was previously thought. Values for the orientation factor are calculated using various models corresponding to different degrees of local order of the Qy dipoles of chlorophylls in the thylakoid. We show that the characteristic orientation pattern of the Qy dipoles of chlorophylls in the membrane, i.e., increasing dichroism toward longer wavelengths, may favour energy transfer between the antenna chlorophylls as well as funnel the excitation energy into the reaction centers.     

Surface Charge Movements of Purple Membrane During Light-Dark Adaptation

The difference in the surface charge distribution between light-adapted and dark-adapted purple membranes was investigated with electric dichroism measurements from approximately pH 5 to pH 11. Purple membrane sheets in solution are oriented in a weak electric field by their permanent dipole moment, which is due to the charge distribution of the membrane surfaces and/or within the membrane. The degree of orientation of purple membrane sheets was obtained from the measurement of “electrical anisotropy” of retinal chromophore in the membranes. At about pH 7, there was no difference in the “electric anisotropy” between light- and dark-adapted purple membranes. At about pH 9, the electric anisotropy of dark-adapted purple membrane was larger than that of light-adapted purple membrane. But at around pH 6 the difference was opposite. Linear dichroism experiments did not show any change of retinal tilt angle with respect to the membrane normal between the two forms from approximately pH 5 to pH 10. This result indicates that the changes in the “electric anisotropy” are not due to the change of retinal tilt angle, but due to the change in the permanent dipole moment of the membrane. To estimate the change in surface charges from the permanent dipole moment, we investigated the difference of the permanent dipole moment between the native purple membrane and papain-treated purple membrane in which negative charges in the cytoplasmic-terminal part are removed. This estimation suggests that this light-dark difference at around pH 9 can be accounted for by a change of ~0.5 electric charge per bacteriorhodopsin (bR) molecule at either of the two surfaces of the membrane. We also found from pH electrode measurements that at about pH 8 or 9 light adaptation was accompanied by an uptake of ~0.1 protons per bR. A possible movement of protons during light-dark adaptation is discussed. The direction of the permanent dipole moment does not change with papain treatment. The permanent dipole moment in papain-treated purple membrane is estimated to be 27 ±2 debye/bR.     

Assignment of the vibrational modes of the chromophores of iodopsin and bathoiodopsin: low-temperature fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of 13C- and 2H-labeled iodopsins

To investigate the chromophore structures of iodopsin and its low-temperature photoproducts, we have assigned their vibrational bands in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra using iodopsin samples that were reconstituted with a series of (13)C- and deuterium-labeled retinals. The analyses of the vibrational bands in the fingerprint and hydrogen-out-of-plane (HOOP) regions indicated that the structure of the chromophores in the iodopsin system differs near their centers from those in the rhodopsin system. Compared to rhodopsin, the chromophore of the batho intermediate of iodopsin is twisted in the C(12) to C(14) regions but is more planar around C(11) region. The large amount of twisting was reduced by removing the chloride ion from the iodopsin, suggesting that this twisting hinders the relaxation of the torsion near C(11) necessary for the transition to the lumi intermediate and thus results in the thermal reversion of the batho intermediate back to the iodopsin. From the analyses of the C=NH and C=ND stretching bands, we conclude that the displacement of the Schiff base region upon photoisomerization of the chromophore is restricted, as is the case for rhodopsin. These results indicated that iodopsin's chromophore has a unique structure near its center and that this difference is enhanced by the binding of chloride nearby.     

Chromophore reorientations in the early photolysis intermediates of bacteriorhodopsin.

The photoselection-induced time-resolved linear dichroism of a bacteriorhodopsin suspension of purple membrane from 350 to 750 nm is measured by a new pseudo-null measurement technique. In combination with time-resolved absorption measurements, these linear dichroism measurements are used to determine the reorientation of the retinal chromophore of bacteriorhodopsin from 50 ns to 50 microseconds after photolysis. This time range covers the times when the K photointermediate decays to form L, as well as the early times during the formation of the M intermediate in the photocycle. An analysis of the photoselection-induced linear dichroism measured directly, along with the absorbance changes polarized parallel to the linearly polarized excitation, shows that the anisotropy is invariant over this time period, implying that the photolyzed chromophore rotates less than 8 degrees C with respect to unphotolyzed chromophores during this part of the photocycle.