title: Evidence from Chlamydomonas on the photoactivation of rhodopsins without isomerization of their chromophore.
abstract: Attachment of retinal to opsin forms the chromophore N-retinylidene, which isomerizes during photoactivation of rhodopsins. To test whether isomerization is crucial, custom-tailored chromophores lacking the β-ionone ring and any isomerizable bonds were incorporated in vivo into the opsin of a blind mutant of the eukaryote Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The analogs restored phototaxis with the anticipated action spectra, ruling out the need for isomerization in photoactivation. To further elucidate photoactivation, responses to chromophores formed from naphthalene aldehydes were studied. The resulting action spectral shifts suggest that charge separation within the excited chromophore leads to electric field-induced polarization of nearby amino acid residues and altered hydrogen bonding. This redistribution of charge facilitates the reported multiple bond rotations and protein rearrangements of rhodopsin activation. These results provide insight into the activation of rhodopsins and related GPCRs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Jureepan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saranak
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krane
authors.forename: Randy L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000378:metabolism*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007536:Isomerism; D008027:Light; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012172:Retinaldehyde / Q000737:chemistry; D012176:Retinoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D012176:Retinoids; C121835:retinylidene chromophore; D012243:Rhodopsin; D012172:Retinaldehyde