title: Structure of archaerhodopsin-2 at 1.8 Å resolution.
abstract: Archaerhodopsin-2 (aR2), the sole protein found in the claret membrane of Halorubrum sp. Aus-2, functions as a light-driven proton pump. In this study, structural analysis of aR2 was performed using a novel three-dimensional crystal prepared by the successive fusion of claret membranes. The crystal is made up of stacked membranes, in each of which aR2 trimers are arranged on a hexagonal lattice. This lattice structure resembles that found in the purple membrane of H. salinarum, except that lipid molecules trapped within the trimeric structure are not distributed with perfect threefold symmetry. Nonetheless, diffraction data at 1.8 Å resolution provide accurate structural information about functionally important residues. It is shown that two glutamates in the proton-release channel form a paired structure that is maintained by a low-barrier hydrogen bond. Although the structure of the proton-release pathway is highly conserved among proton-pumping archaeal rhodopsins, aR2 possesses the following peculiar structural features: (i) the motional freedom of the tryptophan residue that makes contact with the C13 methyl group of retinal is restricted, affecting the formation/decay kinetics of the L state, and (ii) the N-terminal polypeptide folds into an Ω-loop, which may play a role in organizing the higher-order structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kouyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryudo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Soun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanada
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Taichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Siu Kit
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Midori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murakami
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006217:Halobacterium / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017494:Proton Pumps / Q000737:chemistry; D025604:Rhodopsins, Microbial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017494:Proton Pumps; D025604:Rhodopsins, Microbial; D018698:Glutamic Acid
keywords: archaerhodopsin-2; light-driven proton pump