1.8 A bright-state structure of the reversibly switchable fluorescent protein Dronpa guides the generation of fast switching variants

RSFPs (reversibly switchable fluorescent proteins) may be repeatedly converted between a fluorescent and a non-fluorescent state by irradiation and have attracted widespread interest for many new applications. The RSFP Dronpa may be switched with blue light from a fluorescent state into a non-fluorescent state, and back again with UV light. To obtain insight into the underlying molecular mechanism of this switching, we have determined the crystal structure of the fluorescent equilibrium state of Dronpa. Its bicyclic chromophore is formed spontaneously from the Cys62-Tyr63-Gly64 tripeptide. In the fluorescent state, it adopts a slightly non-coplanar cis conformation within the interior of a typical GFP (green fluorescent protein) b-can fold. Dronpa shares some structural features with asFP595, another RSFP whose chromophore has previously been demonstrated to undergo a cis-trans isomerization upon photoswitching. Based on the structural comparison with asFP595, we have generated new Dronpa variants with an up to more than 1000-fold accelerated switching behaviour. The mutations which were introduced at position Val157 or Met159 apparently reduce the steric hindrance for a cis-trans isomerization of the chromophore, thus lowering the energy barrier for the blue light-driven on-to-off transition. The findings reported in the present study support the view that a cis-trans isomerization is one of the key events common to the switching mechanism in RSFPs.     

A structural basis for reversible photoswitching of absorbance spectra in red fluorescent protein rsTagRFP

rsTagRFP is the first monomeric red fluorescent protein (FP) with reversibly photoswitchable absorbance spectra. The switching is realized by irradiation of rsTagRFP with blue (440 nm) and yellow (567 nm) light, turning the protein fluorescence ON and OFF, respectively. It is perhaps the most useful probe in this color class that has yet been reported. Because of the photoswitchable absorbance, rsTagRFP can be used as an acceptor in photochromic Förster resonance energy transfer. Yellow FPs, YPet and mVenus, are demonstrated to be excellent photochromic Förster resonance energy transfer donors for the rsTagRFP acceptor in its fusion constructs. Analysis of X-ray structures has shown that photoswitching of rsTagRFP is accompanied by cis–trans isomerization and protonation/deprotonation of the chromophore, with the deprotonated cis- and protonated trans-isomers corresponding to its ON and OFF states, respectively. Unlike in other photoswitchable FPs, both conformers of rsTagRFP chromophore are essentially coplanar. Two other peculiarities of the rsTagRFP chromophore are an essentially hydrophobic environment of its p-hydroxyphenyl site and the absence of direct hydrogen bonding between this moiety and the protein scaffold. The influence of the immediate environment on rsTagRFP chromophore was probed by site-directed mutagenesis. Residues Glu145 and His197 were found to participate in protonation/deprotonation of the chromophore accompanying the photoswitching of rsTagRFP fluorescence, whereas residues Met160 and Leu174 were shown to spatially restrict chromophore isomerization, favoring its radiative decay.     

Posttranslational reactions that shift spectra of asFP595, a Protein from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anemonia sulcata</Emphasis>, towards the long-wavelength region

In most fluorescent proteins absorbing and emitting light in the red and far-red spectral region (550–650 nm), the chromophore π system is extended by an acylimine substituent due to additional oxidation of a GFP-like structure. In contrast, photoactivatable protein asFP595 contains a chromophore, in which the acylimine substituent is replaced by a keto-group. Here we have investigated reactions bringing about the bathochromic shift in asFP595 spectra. Maturation kinetics analysis shows that, similarly to common red fluorescent proteins, asFP595 forms an intermediate with a protonated chromophore (absorbance at 420 nm), which isosbestically converts to the final mature form (568 nm). Mass-spectrometric analysis of the chromopeptide isolated from immature asFP595 indicates that the intermediate contains a GFP-like chromophore. It was also found that, upon GFP-like intermediate oxidation, an equimolar amount of hydrogen peroxide is generated. To further identify intermediate products of this oxidation reaction, mutagenesis of the first chromophore-forming amino acid residue was performed. It was found that in all mutants tested, the reaction does not entail acylimine formation and directly leads to protein fragmentation and keto derivative formation.     

Alternative cyclization in GFP-like proteins family. The formation and structure of the chromophore of a purple chromoprotein from Anemonia sulcata

Anemonia sulcata purple protein (asFP595) belongs to a family of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like proteins from the Anthozoa species. Similar to GFP, asFP595 apparently forms its chromophore by modifying amino acids within its polypeptide chain. Until now, the GFP-like proteins from Anthozoa were thought to contain chromophores with the same imidazolidinone core as GFP. Mass spectral analysis of a chromophore-containing tryptic pentapeptide from asFP595 demonstrates that chromophore formation in asFP595 is stoichiometrically the same as that in GFP: one H(2)O and two H(+) are released while a Schiff base and dehydrotyrosine are formed. However, structural studies of this asFP595 chromopeptide show that in contrast to GFP, the other peptide bond nitrogen and carbonyl carbon are required for chromophore cyclization, a reaction that yields the six-membered heterocycle 2-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxy-2,5-dihydropyrazine. Spectrophotometric titration reveals three pH-dependent forms of the asFP595 chromopeptide: yellow (absorption maximum = 430 nm) at pH 3.0; red (absorption maximum = 535 nm) at pH 8.0; and colorless (absorption maximum = 380 nm) at pH 14.0. The pK(a) values for these spectral transitions (6.8 and 10.9) are consistent with the ionization of the phenolic group of dehydrotyrosine and deprotonation of the amidinium cation in the chromophore heterocycle, respectively. The amidinium group in asFP595 accounts for the unique absorption spectrum of the protein, which is substantially red-shifted relative to that of GFP. When the asFP595 chromophore cyclizes, the Cys-Met bond adjacent to the chromophore hydrolyzes, splitting the chromoprotein into 8- and 20-kDa fragments. High performance liquid chromatography analysis of a tryptic digest of denatured asFP595 shows that a pentapeptide with the cleaved Cys-Met bond is the only fragment associated with the red-shifted absorbance. These results imply that fragmentation of asFP595 is a critical step in protein maturation.     

Structural characterization of the photoswitchable fluorescent protein Dronpa-C62S

The photoswitching behavior of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) or GFP-like proteins is increasingly recognized as a new technique for optical marking. Recently, Ando and his colleagues developed a new green fluorescent protein Dronpa, which possesses the unique photochromic property of being photoswitchable in a non-destructive manner. To better understand this mechanism, we determined the crystal structures of a new GFP Dronpa and its mutant C62S, at 1.9 Angstroms and 1.8 Angstroms, respectively. Determination of the structures demonstrates that a unique hydrogen-bonding network and the sulfur atom of the chromophore are critical to the photoswitching property of Dronpa. Reversible photoswitching was lost in cells expressing the Dronpa-C62S upon repetitive irradiation compared to the native protein. Structural and mutational analyses reveal the chemical basis for the functional properties of photoswitchable fluorescent proteins and provide the basis for subsequent coherent engineering of this subfamily of Dronpa homologs.     

Traditional GFP-type cyclization and unexpected fragmentation site in a purple chromoprotein from Anemonia sulcata, asFP595

The purple chromoprotein (asFP595) from Anemonia sulcata belongs to the family of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Absorption and emission spectra of asFP595 are similar to those of a number of recently cloned GFP-like red proteins of the DsRed subfamily. The earlier proposed asFP595 chromophore structure [Martynov, V. I.; et al. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 21012-21016] was postulated to result from an "alternative cyclization" giving rise to a pyrazine-type six-membered heterocycle. Here we report that the asFP595 chromophore is actually very close in chemical structure to that of zFP538, a yellow fluorescent protein [Zagranichny, V. E.; et al. (2004) Biochemistry 43, 4764-4772]. NMR spectroscopic studies of four chromophore-containing peptides (chromopeptides) isolated under mild conditions from enzymatic digests of asFP595 and one chromopeptide obtained from DsRed revealed that all of them contain a p-hydroxybenzylideneimidazolinone moiety formed by Met-65/Gln-66, Tyr-66/67, and Gly-67/68 of asFP595/DsRed, respectively. Two asFP595 chromopeptides are proteolysis products of an isolated full-length polypeptide containing a GFP-type chromophore already formed and arrested at an earlier stage of maturation. The two other asFP595 chromopeptides were isolated as proteolysis products of the purified chromophore-containing C-terminal fragment. One of these has an oxo group at Met-65 C(alpha) and is a hydrolysis product of another one, with the imino group at Met-65 C(alpha). The N-unsubstituted imino moiety of the latter is generated by spontaneous polypeptide chain cleavage at a very unexpected site, the former peptide bond between Cys-64 C' and Met-65 N(alpha). Our data strongly suggest that both zFP538 and asFP595 could be attributed to the DsRed subfamily of GFP-like proteins.     

Reversible photoswitching in fluorescent proteins: a mechanistic view

Phototransformable fluorescent proteins (FPs) have received considerable attention in recent years, because they enable many new exciting modalities in fluorescence microscopy and biotechnology. On illumination with proper actinic light, phototransformable FPs are amenable to long-lived transitions between various fluorescent or nonfluorescent states, resulting in processes known as photoactivation, photoconversion, or photoswitching. Here, we review the subclass of photoswitchable FPs with a mechanistic perspective. These proteins offer the widest range of practical applications, including reversible high-density data bio-storage, photochromic FRET, and super-resolution microscopy by either point-scanning, structured illumination, or single molecule-based wide-field approaches. Photoswitching can be engineered to occur with high contrast in both Hydrozoan and Anthozoan FPs and typically results from a combination of chromophore cis-trans isomerization and protonation change. However, other switching schemes based on, for example, chromophore hydration/dehydration have been discovered, and it seems clear that ever more performant variants will be developed in the future.     

Photo-induced protonation/deprotonation in the GFP-like fluorescent protein Dronpa: mechanism responsible for the reversible photoswitching.

Recently, reversible photoswitching in bulk samples or in individual molecules of Dronpa, a mutant of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like fluorescent protein, has been demonstrated. Intense irradiation at 488 nm changed Dronpa in a dim protonated form, and weak irradiation at 405 nm restored it to the bright deprotonated form. Here, we report on the mechanism of photoswitching of Dronpa by means of ensemble and single-molecule spectroscopy. Ensemble spectroscopy shows that the photoswitching can be described, in first approximation, by a three-state model including a deprotonated (B), a protonated (A1), and a photoswitched protonated (A2) forms of the chromophore. While the B and the A1 forms are in a ground state acid-base equilibrium, the B and the A2 forms are reversibly photoswitched upon irradiation with 488 and 405 nm light. At the single-molecule level, the on-times in fluorescence intensity trajectories excited at 488 nm decrease with increasing the excitation power, consistent with the photoswitching from the B to A2 form. The on-times agree well with expected values, which are calculated based on the ensemble spectroscopic properties of Dronpa. The fluorescence trajectory obtained with simultaneous dual-color excitation at 488 and 405 nm demonstrates reversible photoswitching between the B and the A2 forms at the single-molecule level. The efficiency of the photoswitching from the A2 to B form increased with increasing the excitation power of the 405 nm light. Our results demonstrate that Dronpa holds its outstanding photoswitching properties, based on a photo-induced protonation/deprotonation process, even at the single-molecule level.     

A photoswitchable orange-to-far-red fluorescent protein, PSmOrange

We report a photoswitchable monomeric Orange (PSmOrange) protein that is initially orange (excitation, 548 nm; emission, 565 nm) but becomes far-red (excitation, 636 nm; emission, 662 nm) after irradiation with blue-green light. Compared to its parental orange proteins, PSmOrange has greater brightness, faster maturation, higher photoconversion contrast and better photostability. The red-shifted spectra of both forms of PSmOrange enable its simultaneous use with cyan-to-green photoswitchable proteins to study four intracellular populations. Photoconverted PSmOrange has, to our knowledge, the most far-red excitation peak of all GFP-like fluorescent proteins, provides diffraction-limited and super-resolution imaging in the far-red light range, is optimally excited with common red lasers, and can be photoconverted subcutaneously in a mouse. PSmOrange photoswitching occurs via a two-step photo-oxidation process, which causes cleavage of the polypeptide backbone. The far-red fluorescence of photoconverted PSmOrange results from a new chromophore containing N-acylimine with a co-planar carbon-oxygen double bond.     

Kindling fluorescent protein from Anemonia sulcata: dark-state structure at 1.38 A resolution

When the nonfluorescent chromoprotein asFP595 from Anemonia sulcata is subjected to sufficiently intense illumination near the absorbance maximum (lambda(abs)(max) = 568 nm), it undergoes a remarkable transition, termed "kindling", to a long-lived fluorescent state (lambda(em)(max) = 595 nm). In the dark recovery phase, the kindled state relaxes thermally on a time scale of seconds or can instantly be reverted upon illumination at 450 nm. The kindling phenomenon is enhanced by the Ala143 --> Gly point mutation, which slows the dark recovery time constant to 100 s at room temperature and increases the fluorescence quantum yield. To investigate the chemical nature of the chromophore and the possible role of chromophore isomerization in the kindling phenomenon, we determined the crystal structure of the "kindling fluorescent protein" asFP595-A143G (KFP) in the dark-adapted state at 1.38 A resolution and 100 K. The chromophore, derived from the Met63-Tyr64-Gly65 tripeptide, closely resembles that of the nonfluorescent chromoprotein Rtms5 in that the configuration is trans about the methylene bridge and there is substantial distortion from planarity. Unlike in Rtms5, in the native protein the polypeptide backbone is cleaved between Cys62 and Met63. The size and shape of the chromophore pocket suggest that the cis isomer of the chromophore could also be accommodated. Within the pocket, partially disordered His197 displays two conformations, which may constitute a binary switch that stabilizes different chromophore configurations. The energy barrier for thermal relaxation was found by Arrhenius plot analysis to be approximately 71 kJ/mol, somewhat higher than the value of approximately 55 kJ/mol observed for cis-trans isomerization of a model chromophore in solution.     

Reversible photoswitchable DRONPA-s monitors nucleocytoplasmic transport of an RNA-binding protein in transgenic plants

Fluorescent reporter proteins that allow repeated switching between a fluorescent and a non-fluorescent state are novel tools for monitoring intracellular protein trafficking. A codon-optimized variant of the reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein DRONPA was designed for the use in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Its codon usage is also well adapted to the mammalian codon usage. The synthetic protein, DRONPA-s, shows photochemical properties and switching behavior comparable to that of the original DRONPA from Pectiniidae both in vitro and in vivo. DRONPA-s fused to the RNA-binding protein AtGRP7 (Arabidopsis thaliana glycine-rich RNA-binding protein 7) under control of the endogenous AtGRP7 promoter localizes to cytoplasm, nucleoplasm and nucleolus of transgenic Arabidopsis plants. To monitor the intracellular transport dynamics of AtGRP7-DRONPA-s, we set up a single-molecule sensitive confocal fluorescence microscope. Fluorescence recovery after selective photoswitching experiments revealed that AtGRP7-DRONPA-s reaches the nucleus by carrier-mediated transport. Furthermore, photoactivation experiments showed that AtGRP7-DRONPA-s is exported from the nucleus. Thus, AtGRP7 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein. Our results show that the fluorescent marker DRONPA-s is a versatile tool to track protein transport dynamics in stably transformed plants.     

The 1.7 A crystal structure of Dronpa: a photoswitchable green fluorescent protein

The green fluorescent protein (GFP), its variants, and the closely related GFP-like proteins possess a wide variety of spectral properties that are of widespread interest as biological tools. One desirable spectral property, termed photoswitching, involves the light-induced alteration of the optical properties of certain GFP members. Although the structural basis of both reversible and irreversible photoswitching events have begun to be unraveled, the mechanisms resulting in reversible photoswitching are less clear. A novel GFP-like protein, Dronpa, was identified to have remarkable light-induced photoswitching properties, maintaining an almost perfect reversible photochromic behavior with a high fluorescence to dark state ratio. We have crystallized and subsequently determined to 1.7 A resolution the crystal structure of the fluorescent state of Dronpa. The chromophore was observed to be in its anionic form, adopting a cis co-planar conformation. Comparative structural analysis of non-photoactivatable and photoactivatable GFPs, together with site-directed mutagenesis of a position (Cys62) within the Dronpa chromophore, has provided a basis for understanding Dronpa photoactivation. Specifically, we propose a model of reversible photoactivation whereby irradiation with light leads to subtle conformational changes within and around the environment of the chromophore that promotes proton transfer along an intricate polar network.     

Fluorescence of rhodopsins and its relation to primary processes of light energy transformation

A new area of the investigation of visual and bacterial rhodopsins--fluorescence spectroscopy of the pigments is discussed. Fluorescence properties are considered in relation to photochemical transformations of the pigments at low temperatures. A number of fluorescent states of the pigments are described. It is shown that the excited states of bacteriorhodopsin and visual rhodopsin are characterized by a series of common features. The analysis of general properties of the pigments excited states allows a conclusion that the singlet excited states take part in the photoreaction. The photoreaction scheme is discussed in which structural changes of the chromophore take place already in the excited state.     

Chromophore-protein interactions in the anthozoan green fluorescent protein asFP499

Despite their similar fold topologies, anthozoan fluorescent proteins (FPs) can exhibit widely different optical properties, arising either from chemical modification of the chromophore itself or from specific interactions of the chromophore with the surrounding protein moiety. Here we present a structural and spectroscopic investigation of the green FP asFP499 from the sea anemone Anemonia sulcata var. rufescens to explore the effects of the protein environment on the chromophore. The optical absorption and fluorescence spectra reveal two discrete species populated in significant proportions over a wide pH range. Moreover, multiple protonation reactions are evident from the observed pH-dependent spectral changes. The x-ray structure of asFP499, determined by molecular replacement at a resolution of 1.85 A, shows the typical beta-barrel fold of the green FP from Aequorea victoria (avGFP). In its center, the chromophore, formed from the tripeptide Gln(63)-Tyr(64)-Gly(65), is tightly held by multiple hydrogen bonds in a polar cage that is structurally quite dissimilar to that of avGFP. The x-ray structure provides interesting clues as to how the spectroscopic properties are fine tuned by the chromophore environment.     

Synthesis and properties of the chromophore of the asFP595 chromoprotein from Anemonia sulcata

A model compound for the chromophore within the purple nonfluorescent GFP-like chromoprotein asFP595 was synthesized. The postulated structure of the chromophore, 2-acetyl-4-(p-hydroxybenzylidene)-1-methyl-5-imidazolone, was taken from the high-resolution crystal structure analysis of intact asFP595 [Quillin, M. L., Anstrom, D., Shu, X., O'Leary, S., Kallio, K., Lukyanov, K. A., and Remington, S. J. (2005) Kindling Fluorescent Protein from Anemonia sulcata: Dark-State Structure at 1.38 A Resolution, Biochemistry 44, 5774-5787]. Erlenmeyer lactonization and oxidation of the methylene group attached to the heteroaromatic moiety with selenium dioxide were used at the key stages of the synthesis. The spectral properties of the model chromophore in solution and their dependence on the pH and polarity of the solvent were investigated. In water, the chromophore was found to exist in two forms, neutral and anionic, with a pK(a) of 7.1. In a dimethylformamide solution, the spectral properties of the anionic form closely match those of the native protein, demonstrating that under these conditions, the compound is an excellent model for the chromophore within native asFP595.     

Ultrafast Photoconversion of the Green Fluorescent Protein Studied by Accumulative Femtosecond Spectroscopy

The irreversible photoconversion of T203V green fluorescent protein (GFP) via decarboxylation is studied under femtosecond excitation using an accumulative product detection method that allows us to measure small conversion efficiencies of down to ΔOD = 10⁻⁷ absorbance change per pulse. Power studies with 800- and 400-nm pulse excitation reveal that excitation to higher states of the neutral form of the GFP chromophore induces photoconversion very efficiently. The singly excited neutral chromophore is a resonant intermediate of the two-step excitation process that leads to efficient photoconversion. We determine the dynamics of this two-step process by separating the excitation step of the neutral chromophore from the further excitation step to the reactive state in a time-resolved two-color experiment. The dynamics show that a further excitation to the very reactive higher excited state is only possible from the initially excited neutral chromophore and not from the fluorescent intermediate state. For applications of GFP in two-photon fluorescence microscopy, the found photochemical behavior implies that the high intensity conditions used in microscopy can lead to photoconversion easily and care has to be taken to avoid unwanted photoconversion.     

Protonation states and pH titration in the photocycle of photoactive yellow protein

Photoactive yellow protein (PYP) undergoes a light-driven cycle of color and protonation states that is part of a mechanism of bacterial phototaxis. This article concerns functionally important protonation states of PYP and the interactions that stabilize them, and changes in the protonation state during the photocycle. In particular, the chromophore pK(a) is known to be shifted down so that the chromophore is negatively charged in the ground state (dark state) even though it is buried in the protein, while nearby Glu46 has an unusually high pK(a). The photocycle involves changes of one or both of these protonation states. Calculations of pK(a) values and protonation states using a semi-macroscopic electrostatic model are presented for the wild-type and three mutants, in both the ground state and the bleached (I(2)) intermediate state. Calculations allowing multiple H-bonding arrangements around the chromophore also have been carried out. In addition, ground-state pK(a) values of the chromophore have been measured by UV-visible spectroscopy for the wild-type and the same three mutants. Because of the unusual protonation states and strong electrostatic interactions, PYP represents a severe test of the ability of theoretical models to yield correct calculations of electrostatic interactions in proteins. Good agreement between experiment and theory can be obtained for the ground state provided the protein interior is assumed to have a relatively low dielectric constant, but only partial agreement between theory and experiment is obtained for the bleached state. We also present a reinterpretation of previously published data on the pH-dependence of the recovery of the ground state from the bleached state. The new analysis implies a pK(a) value of 6.37 for Glu46 in the bleached state, which is consistent with other available experimental data, including data that only became available after this analysis. The new analysis suggests that signal transduction is modulated by the titration properties of the bleached state, which are in turn determined by electrostatic interactions. Overall, the results of this study provide a quantitative picture of the interactions responsible for the unusual protonation states of the chromophore and Glu46, and of protonation changes upon bleaching.     

Protonation of excited state pyrene-1-carboxylate by phosphate and organic acids in aqueous solution studied by fluorescence spectroscopy

Pyrene-1-carboxylic acid has a pK of 4.0 in the ground state and 8.1 in the singlet electronic excited state. In the pH range of physiological interest (pH approximately 5-8), the ground state compound is largely ionized as pyrene-1-carboxylate, but protonation of the excited state molecule occurs when a proton donor reacts with the carboxylate during the excited state lifetime of the fluorophore. Both forms of the pyrene derivatives are fluorescent, and in this work the protonation reaction was measured by monitoring steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence. The rate of protonation of pyrene-COO(-) by acetic, chloroacetic, lactic, and cacodylic acids is a function of DeltapK, as predicted by Marcus theory. The rate of proton transfer from these acids saturates at high concentration, as expected for the existence of an encounter complex. Trihydrogen-phosphate is a much better proton donor than dihydrogen- and monohydrogen-phosphate, as can be seen by the pH dependence. The proton-donating ability of phosphate does not saturate at high concentrations, but increases with increasing phosphate concentration. We suggest that enhanced rate of proton transfer at high phosphate concentrations may be due to the dual proton donating and accepting nature of phosphate, in analogy to the Grotthuss mechanism for proton transfer in water. It is suggested that in molecular structures containing multiple phosphates, such as membrane surfaces and DNA, proton transfer rates will be enhanced by this mechanism.     

Function and structure of GFP-like proteins in the protein data bank

The RCSB protein databank contains 266 crystal structures of green fluorescent proteins (GFP) and GFP-like proteins. This is the first systematic analysis of all the GFP-like structures in the pdb. We have used the pdb to examine the function of fluorescent proteins (FP) in nature, aspects of excited state proton transfer (ESPT) in FPs, deformation from planarity of the chromophore and chromophore maturation. The conclusions reached in this review are that (1) The lid residues are highly conserved, particularly those on the "top" of the β-barrel. They are important to the function of GFP-like proteins, perhaps in protecting the chromophore or in β-barrel formation. (2) The primary/ancestral function of GFP-like proteins may well be to aid in light induced electron transfer. (3) The structural prerequisites for light activated proton pumps exist in many structures and it's possible that like bioluminescence, proton pumps are secondary functions of GFP-like proteins. (4) In most GFP-like proteins the protein matrix exerts a significant strain on planar chromophores forcing most GFP-like proteins to adopt non-planar chromophores. These chromophoric deviations from planarity play an important role in determining the fluorescence quantum yield. (5) The chemospatial characteristics of the chromophore cavity determine the isomerization state of the chromophore. The cavities of highlighter proteins that can undergo cis/trans isomerization have chemospatial properties that are common to both cis and trans GFP-like proteins.     

Probing the ground state structure of the green fluorescent protein chromophore using Raman spectroscopy

We present Raman spectra, obtained using 752 nm excitation, on wild-type GFP and the S65T mutant of this intrinsically fluorescent protein together with data on a model chromophore, ethyl 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene-2-methyl-5-oxoimidazolacetate . In the pH range 1-14, the model compound has two macroscopic pK(a)s of 1.8 and 8.2 attributed to ionization of the imidazolinone ring nitrogen and the phenolic hydroxyl group, respectively. Comparison of the model chromophore with the chromophore in wild-type GFP and the S65T mutant reveals that the cationic form, with both the imidazolinone ring nitrogen and the phenolic oxygen protonated, is not present in these particular GFP proteins. Our results do not provide any evidence for the zwitterionic form of the chromophore, with the phenolic group deprotonated and the imidazolinone ring nitrogen protonated, being present in the GFP proteins. In addition, since the position of the Raman bands is a property exclusively of the ground state structure, the data enable us to investigate how protein-chromophore interactions affect the ground state structure of the chromophore without contributions from excited state effects. It is found that the ground state structure of the anionic form of the chromophore, which is most relevant to the fluorescent properties, is strongly dependent on the chromophore environment whereas the neutral form seems to be insensitive. A linear correlation between the absorption properties and the ground state structure is demonstrated by plotting the absorption maxima versus the wavenumber of a Raman band found in the range 1610-1655 cm(-1).