title: Quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical studies on spectral tuning mechanisms of visual pigments and other photoactive proteins.
abstract: The protein environments surrounding the retinal tune electronic absorption maximum from 350 to 630 nm. Hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods can be used in calculating excitation energies of retinal in its native protein environments and in studying the molecular basis of spectral tuning. We hereby review recent QM/MM results on the phototransduction of bovine rhodopsin, bacteriorhodopsin, sensory rhodopsin II, nonretinal photoactive yellow protein and their mutants.
authors.affiliation: Cherry L. Emerson Center for Scientific Computation and Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Altun
authors.forename: Shozo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morokuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001436:Bacteriorhodopsins / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010777:Photochemistry; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000737:chemistry; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D011789:Quantum Theory; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000737:chemistry*; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological; D011506:Proteins; D012168:Retinal Pigments; D001436:Bacteriorhodopsins; D012243:Rhodopsin