Light Energy Transduction in the Purple Membrane of Halobacterium Halobium

埃布里博士正在研究盐生盐杆菌紫色膜中的光能转导。将使用各种物理技术来研究其唯一的色素--细菌视紫红质(BR)及其光循环中间体。紫膜是一种特别简单的生物光能转换器。人们对紫膜和紫膜的结构都有很多了解。计划对光如何导致质子泵过细胞膜的问题进行广泛的攻击。解决这个问题的关键是了解细菌视紫红质的发色团和蛋白质部分的结构之间的相互关系，以及发色团吸收光子时发生的光化学和质子在细胞膜上的运动。与质子泵浦活性、紫膜的光化学和BR的结构有关的问题的明确性质使其成为当今生物学中一个极其重要的研究领域。

Dr. Ebrey is studying light energy transduction in the purple membrane of Halobacterium halobium. A variety of physical techniques will be used to investigate its only pigment, bacteriorhodopsin (BR) and its photocycle intermediates. The purple membrane is a particularly simple biological light-energy transducer. A great deal is known about the structure of both BR and the purple membrane. A broad attack on the problem of how light causes the pumping of protons across the cell membrane is planned. The key to this problem is to understand the interrelationships between the structure of both the chromophore and the protein part of bacteriorhodopsin, the photochemistry that occurs when the chromophore absorbs a photon and the movement of protons across the cell membrane. The well-defined nature of the problem of relating proton pumping activity, the photochemistry of the purple membrane and the structure of BR make it an extremely important area of study in biology today.***//