title: Structures of photointermediates and their implications for the proton pump mechanism.
abstract: It is widely accepted that bacteriorhodopsin undergoes global conformational changes during its photocycle. In this review, the structural properties of the M and N intermediates are described in detail. Based on the clarified global conformational change, we propose a model for the molecular mechanism of the proton pump. The global structural change is suggested to be a key component in establishing vectorial proton transport.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5, Takayama-machi, Ikoma, Nara 630-0101, Japan. kataoka@ms.aist-hara.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamikubo
mesh_terms: D001436:Bacteriorhodopsins / Q000737:chemistry*; D004579:Electron Transport; D008027:Light; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010777:Photochemistry; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017494:Proton Pumps / Q000737:chemistry*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D017494:Proton Pumps; D001436:Bacteriorhodopsins