Mechanisms of triggering novel light-switchable functions in rhodopsins: enzymes and non-proton cation pumps

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Microbial rhodopsins are light-sensitive proteins found in various microscopic organisms. They are mostly important for bioenergetics and light-sensing functions of these microbes. In the last decade it became clear that microbial rhodopsins are omnipresent and may have more functions than was believed before. In particular, proton-pumping rhodopsins may account for a significant fraction of the biologically stored energy of the sunlight. In another exciting recent development, several types of microbial rhodopsins (light-switchable ion pumps and channels) are used for optogenetics, where nerve cells of animals can be controlled by light. In this proposal, we want to study new types of microbial rhodopsins, combining techniques of molecular biology and biochemistry with advanced biophysical techniques, such as FTIR and NMR. First, we want to understand so-called enzymerhodopsins, in which rhodopsins trigger enzymatic functions important for cellular biochemistry. Second, we want to study novel bacterial pumps of physiologically important ions, such as sodium. These studies should contribute to better understanding of microbial physiology, evolution, and ecology, as well as to deepen our knowledge of membrane protein biochemistry, structural biology, and photobiology.