title: Structural requirements for key residues and auxiliary portions of a BLUF domain.
abstract: BlrB in Rhodobacter sphaeroides is a single domain, flavin-based blue light sensor protein in the BLUF family of photoreceptors. Consistent with other members of this family, blue light excitation induces a putative signaling state characterized by a 10 nm red shift in the UV-visible absorbance spectrum. Structural and spectroscopic characterization of truncated BlrB constructs establishes that the C-terminal 50 amino acids of this protein are essential to its structural integrity despite not being part of the canonical BLUF domain architecture. Mutagenesis studies support the critical roles of Tyr9, Asn33, and Gln51 for flavin binding and the integrity of the BLUF domain fold. Comparison of solution NMR spectra of BlrB acquired under dark and light conditions indicates very limited light-dependent conformational changes except for a few interesting residues: Trp92, Met94, and Ile127. Notably, the Ile127 side chain experiences significant chemical shift changes despite the fact that it is far ( approximately 15 A) from the flavin chromophore in the C-terminal extension. These data suggest that the light-induced signal is propagated from the flavin through the beta sheet to the last two alpha helices in the C-terminal extension, potentially providing a mechanism to transmit this change to initiate a cellular response to blue light.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390-8816, USA.
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wen-Huang
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Kevin H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Gardner
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005415:Flavins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008027:Light; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000737:chemistry*; D020283:Photoreceptors, Microbial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D017354:Point Mutation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012242:Rhodobacter sphaeroides / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005415:Flavins; D020283:Photoreceptors, Microbial; D011994:Recombinant Proteins