Photobiology of Rhodopsin & Bacteriorhodopsin

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objectives of this research program are to understand the molecular details of protein photochemical mediation and wavelength regulation in bacteriorhodopsin and the visual pigments of rods and cones. Our emphasis for the present grant period is to study the blue, violet and uv cones because relatively little is known about these pigments. The key spectroscopic tools that will be used include one-photon and two-photon spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, CD spectroscopy and pulsed laser photocalorimetry. The principal biochemical studies to be undertaken include site-directed mutagenesis and chromophore analog substitutions as well as random mutagenesis followed by screening for wavelength and photochemical properties. The theoretical studies will rely heavily on the use of MNDOPSDCI molecular orbital theory to probe the photophysical properties of the protein-bound chromophores. An important and new goal of this grant period is to add the prediction of circular dichroism spectra to the MNDOPSDCI procedures, with the immediate goal of using experimental CD spectra to analyze the protein binding sites of rhodopsin and the cone pigments. We will also use ab-initio and semiempirical molecularorbital theory to examine the ground state properties of the chromophore binding sites while using molecular mechanics to describe the remaining portions of the protein. Our goal is to combine experiment and theory in a synergistic program that enhances both. In addition to the more global goals outlined above, we will seek to answer the following specific questions: (1) What are the principal mechanisms of wavelength regulation in the cone pigments? (2) What is responsible for the significant difference in the absorption spectra of bacteriorhodopsin versus sensory rhodopsin II? (3) What are the mechanisms through which the chloride binding sites in the cone pigments influence the spectroscopic properties of the chromophores in the long wavelength cone pigments? (4) Where are the calcium binding sites in bacteriorhodopsin, and how do these sites influence the photophysical properties of the bound chromophore? (5) What specific proteinchromophore interactions are responsible for selecting 6-s-cis versus 6-s-trans ring conformations of the bound chromophore, and why does rhodopsin select the 6-s-cis while bacteriorhodopsin and sensory rhodopsin select the 6-s-trans conformation?