Fourier transform infrared studies on charge-transfer interactions of plastoquinones and α-tocopherol quinone with their hydroquinone forms and monog

Identification of a Ubiquinone–Ubiquinol Quinhydrone Complex in Bacterial Photosynthetic Membranes and Isolated Reaction Centers by Time-Resolved Infrared Spectroscopy

Ubiquinone redox chemistry is of fundamental importance in biochemistry, notably in bioenergetics. The bi-electronic reduction of ubiquinone to ubiquinol has been widely studied, including by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectroscopy, in several systems. In this paper, we have recorded static and time-resolved FTIR difference spectra reflecting light-induced ubiquinone reduction to ubiquinol in bacterial photosynthetic membranes and in detergent-isolated photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers. We found compelling evidence that in both systems under strong light illumination—and also in detergent-isolated reaction centers after two saturating flashes—a ubiquinone–ubiquinol charge-transfer quinhydrone complex, characterized by a characteristic band at ~1565 cm−1, can be formed. Quantum chemistry calculations confirmed that such a band is due to formation of a quinhydrone complex. We propose that the formation of such a complex takes place when Q and QH2 are forced, by spatial constraints, to share a common limited space as, for instance, in detergent micelles, or when an incoming quinone from the pool meets, in the channel for quinone/quinol exchange at the QB site, a quinol coming out. This latter situation can take place both in isolated and membrane bound reaction centers Possible consequences of the formation of this charge-transfer complex under physiological conditions are discussed.

Are conformational changes, induced by osmotic pressure variations, the underlying mechanism of controlling the adhesive activity of mussel adhesive proteins?

The mussel adhesive protein Mefp-1, under physiological conditions, presumably has a self-avoiding random walk conformation with helix-like or turned deca-peptide segments. Such a conformation may coil up under osmotic pressure induced by surrounding macromolecules. As a consequence, the orientation of the 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylalanine groups (dopa), essential for the adhesive strength as well as the cohesive strength in Mefp-1, will be altered. Changing the concentration of the protein itself or of different-type surrounding macromolecules may therefore be a tool to control the protein's adhesive activity. The effect of osmotic pressure on the conformation and dopa reactivity of Mefp-1 is studied by the addition of (poly)ethylene oxide (PEO) as a model macromolecule (Mw = 100 kD). From UV-spectroscopy measurements, it can be concluded that dopa reactivity in Mefp-1 changes with increasing PEO concentration. Fitting of the measured absorbance intensity data of the oxidation product dopaquinone versus time with a kinetic model points to the decreased accessibility of dopa groups in the Mefp-1 structure, a faster oxidation, and diminished cross linking under the influence of increasing PEO concentration up to 2.4 g/L, corresponding to an osmotic pressure of approximately 73 Pa. At higher PEO concentrations, the accessibility of the dopa groups for oxidation as well as cross-link formation decreases until about 20% of the dopa groups are oxidized at a PEO concentration of 3.8 g/L, corresponding to an osmotic pressure of approximately 113 Pa. FTIR measurements on the basis of amide I shifts qualitatively point to a transition to a more continuously turned structure of Mefp-1 in the presence of PEO. Therefore, it seems that conformational changes caused by variations of osmotic pressure determine the extent of steric hindrance of the dopa groups and hence the adhesive reactivity of Mefp-1.

Studies on porphyrin-quinhydrone complexes: molecular recognition of quinone and hydroquinone in solution

Free-base and zinc(II) porphyrins bearing either one, two, or four hydroquinone entities at the meso positions are shown to bind quinones in solutions via a quinhydrone pairing mechanism. Electrochemical studies reveal that the quinhydrone complexes are stabilized by charge-transfer interactions between the donor (hydroquinone) and the acceptor (quinone). The redox potentials of the quinhydrone complexes are governed by the potentials of the quinones utilized to form quinhydrone. The (1)H NMR studies reveal that the quinhydrone complexes are stabilized by H-bonding in addition to the charge-transfer interactions. Singlet emission studies have shown that the fluorescence quenching of the porphyrin increases with an increase in the number of receptors, i.e., hydroquinone entities on the porphyrin macrocycle. Control experiments performed by using zinc porphyrin bearing a dimethoxyphenyl group, i.e., a receptor entity with no H-bonding ability, indicate that the H-bonding plays an important role in quinhydrone formation. Porphyrin-quinhydrone formed by using covalently linked porphyrin-quinone and hydroquinone present in solution shows fluorescence enhancement. The measured fluorescence quantum yields, phi(f), are found to depend on the metal ion in the porphyrin cavity and the oxidation potential of the employed hydroquinones. The present studies also reveal that the measured phi(f) values depend on how the quinhydrone is linked to the porphyrin macrocycle, i.e., either through quinone or hydroquinone. Generally, porphyrin-quinhydrone formed by hydroquinone-appended porphyrins shows decreased phi(f) values as compared to porphyrin-quinhydrone formed by quinone-appended porphyrins.

Binding sites of quinones in photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers investigated by light-induced FTIR difference spectroscopy: assignment of the interactions of each carbonyl of QA in Rhodobacter sphaeroides using site-specific 13C-labeled ubiquinone

Light-induced QA-/QA FTIR difference spectra of the photoreduction of the primary quinone (QA) have been obtained for Rhodobacter sphaeroides reaction centers (RCs) reconstituted with ubiquinone (Q3) labeled selectively with 13C at the 1- or 4-position of the quinone ring, i.e., on either of the two carbonyls. The vibrational modes of the quinone in the QA site are compared to those in vitro. IR absorption spectra of films of the labeled quinones show that the two carbonyls contribute equally to the split C = O band at 1663-1650 cm-1. This splitting is assigned to the two different geometries of the methoxy group nearest to each carbonyl. The QA-/QA spectra of RCs reconstituted with either 13C1- or 13C4-labeled Q3 and with unlabeled Q3 as well as the double differences calculated from these spectra exhibit distinct isotopic shifts for the bands assigned to C = O and C = C vibrations of the neutral QA. For the unlabeled QA, these bands correspond to the bands at 1660, 1628, and 1601 cm-1 previously detected upon nonselective isotopic labeling [Breton, J., Burie, J.-R., Berthomieu, C., Berger, G., & Nabedryk, E. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 4953-4965]. The 1660-cm-1 band is unaffected upon selective labeling at C4 but shifts to approximately 1623 cm-1 upon 13C1 labeling, demonstrating that this band arises from the C1 carbonyl, proximal to the isoprenoid chain. The band at 1628 cm-1 shifts by 11 and 16 cm-1 upon 13C1 and 13C4 labeling, respectively, and is assigned to a C = C mode coupled to both carbonyls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)