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Renouard E, Nowinska M, Lacombat F, Plaza P, Müller P, Espagne A. Multiscale Transient Absorption Study of the Fluorescent Protein Dreiklang and Two Point Variants Provides Insight into Photoswitching and Nonproductive Reaction Pathways. J Phys Chem Lett 2023:6477-6485. [PMID: 37437305 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Dreiklang is a reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein used as a probe in advanced fluorescence imaging. It undergoes a unique and still poorly understood photoswitching mechanism based on the reversible addition of a water molecule to the chromophore. We report the first comprehensive study of the dynamics of this reaction by transient absorption spectroscopy from 100 fs to seconds in the original Dreiklang protein and two point variants. The picture that emerges from our work is that of a competition between photoswitching and nonproductive reaction pathways. We found that photoswitching had a low quantum yield of 0.4%. It involves electron transfer from a tyrosine residue (Tyr203) to the chromophore and is completed in 33 ns. Nonproductive deactivation pathways comprise recombination of a charge transfer intermediate, excited-state proton transfer from the chromophore to a histidine residue (His145), and decay to the ground state via micro-/millisecond-lived intermediates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Renouard
- PASTEUR, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Magdalena Nowinska
- PASTEUR, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Fabien Lacombat
- PASTEUR, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Pascal Plaza
- PASTEUR, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Pavel Müller
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Agathe Espagne
- PASTEUR, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
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2
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Zhu YH, Liu XX, Fang Q, Liu XY, Fang WH, Cui G. Multiple Photoisomerization Pathways of the Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore in a Reversibly Photoswitchable Fluorescent Protein: Insights from Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics Simulations. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:2588-2598. [PMID: 36881005 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Herein, we have employed a combined CASPT2//CASSCF approach within the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) framework to explore the early time photoisomerization of rsEGFP2 starting from its two OFF trans states, i.e., Trans1 and Trans2. The results show similar vertical excitation energies to the S1 state in their Franck-Condon regions. Considering the clockwise and counterclockwise rotations of the C11-C9 bond, four pairs of the S1 excited-state minima and low-lying S1/S0 conical intersections were optimized, based on which we determined four S1 photoisomerization paths that are essentially barrierless to the relevant S1/S0 conical intersections leading to efficient excited-state deactivation to the S0 state. Most importantly, our work first identified multiple photoisomerization and excited-state decay paths, which must be seriously considered in the future. This work not only sheds significant light on the primary trans-cis photoisomerization of rsEGFP2 but also aids in the understanding of the microscopic mechanism of GFP-like RSFPs and the design of novel GFP-like fluorescent proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Hua Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xin-Xin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Qiu Fang
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiang-Yang Liu
- College of Chemistry and Material Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, China
| | - Wei-Hai Fang
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Ganglong Cui
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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6
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Tang L, Fang C. Photoswitchable Fluorescent Proteins: Mechanisms on Ultrafast Timescales. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:6459. [PMID: 35742900 PMCID: PMC9223536 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The advancement of super-resolution imaging (SRI) relies on fluorescent proteins with novel photochromic properties. Using light, the reversibly switchable fluorescent proteins (RSFPs) can be converted between bright and dark states for many photocycles and their emergence has inspired the invention of advanced SRI techniques. The general photoswitching mechanism involves the chromophore cis-trans isomerization and proton transfer for negative and positive RSFPs and hydration-dehydration for decoupled RSFPs. However, a detailed understanding of these processes on ultrafast timescales (femtosecond to millisecond) is lacking, which fundamentally hinders the further development of RSFPs. In this review, we summarize the current progress of utilizing various ultrafast electronic and vibrational spectroscopies, and time-resolved crystallography in investigating the on/off photoswitching pathways of RSFPs. We show that significant insights have been gained for some well-studied proteins, but the real-time "action" details regarding the bidirectional cis-trans isomerization, proton transfer, and intermediate states remain unclear for most systems, and many other relevant proteins have not been studied yet. We expect this review to lay the foundation and inspire more ultrafast studies on existing and future engineered RSFPs. The gained mechanistic insights will accelerate the rational development of RSFPs with enhanced two-way switching rate and efficiency, better photostability, higher brightness, and redder emission colors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longteng Tang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-4003, USA
| | - Chong Fang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-4003, USA
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7
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Auhim HS, Grigorenko BL, Harris TK, Aksakal OE, Polyakov IV, Berry C, Gomes GDP, Alabugin IV, Rizkallah PJ, Nemukhin AV, Jones DD. Stalling chromophore synthesis of the fluorescent protein Venus reveals the molecular basis of the final oxidation step. Chem Sci 2021; 12:7735-7745. [PMID: 34168826 PMCID: PMC8188506 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc06693a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluorescent proteins (FPs) have revolutionised the life sciences, but the mechanism of chromophore maturation is still not fully understood. Here we show that incorporation of a photo-responsive non-canonical amino acid within the chromophore stalls maturation of Venus, a yellow FP, at an intermediate stage; a crystal structure indicates the presence of O2 located above a dehydrated enolate form of the imidazolone ring, close to the strictly conserved Gly67 that occupies a twisted conformation. His148 adopts an "open" conformation so forming a channel that allows O2 access to the immature chromophore. Absorbance spectroscopy supported by QM/MM simulations suggests that the first oxidation step involves formation of a hydroperoxyl intermediate in conjunction with dehydrogenation of the methylene bridge. A fully conjugated mature chromophore is formed through release of H2O2, both in vitro and in vivo. The possibility of interrupting and photochemically restarting chromophore maturation and the mechanistic insights open up new approaches for engineering optically controlled fluorescent proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Husam Sabah Auhim
- School of Biosciences, Molecular Biosciences Division, Cardiff University Sir Martin Evans Building Cardiff CF10 3AX UK +44 (0)29 2087 4290
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Baghdad Baghdad Iraq
| | - Bella L Grigorenko
- Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1-3 Moscow Russian Federation +7 495 939 1096
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russian Federation
| | - Tessa K Harris
- School of Biosciences, Molecular Biosciences Division, Cardiff University Sir Martin Evans Building Cardiff CF10 3AX UK +44 (0)29 2087 4290
| | - Ozan E Aksakal
- School of Biosciences, Molecular Biosciences Division, Cardiff University Sir Martin Evans Building Cardiff CF10 3AX UK +44 (0)29 2087 4290
| | - Igor V Polyakov
- Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1-3 Moscow Russian Federation +7 495 939 1096
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russian Federation
| | - Colin Berry
- School of Biosciences, Molecular Biosciences Division, Cardiff University Sir Martin Evans Building Cardiff CF10 3AX UK +44 (0)29 2087 4290
| | - Gabriel Dos Passos Gomes
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto 80 St. George Street Toronto ON M5S 3H6 Canada
- Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto 214 College St. Toronto Ontario M5T 3A1 Canada
| | - Igor V Alabugin
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University Tallahassee Fl 32306 USA +1 850 644 5795
| | | | - Alexander V Nemukhin
- Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1-3 Moscow Russian Federation +7 495 939 1096
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russian Federation
| | - D Dafydd Jones
- School of Biosciences, Molecular Biosciences Division, Cardiff University Sir Martin Evans Building Cardiff CF10 3AX UK +44 (0)29 2087 4290
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8
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Mroginski MA, Adam S, Amoyal GS, Barnoy A, Bondar AN, Borin VA, Church JR, Domratcheva T, Ensing B, Fanelli F, Ferré N, Filiba O, Pedraza-González L, González R, González-Espinoza CE, Kar RK, Kemmler L, Kim SS, Kongsted J, Krylov AI, Lahav Y, Lazaratos M, NasserEddin Q, Navizet I, Nemukhin A, Olivucci M, Olsen JMH, Pérez de Alba Ortíz A, Pieri E, Rao AG, Rhee YM, Ricardi N, Sen S, Solov'yov IA, De Vico L, Wesolowski TA, Wiebeler C, Yang X, Schapiro I. Frontiers in Multiscale Modeling of Photoreceptor Proteins. Photochem Photobiol 2021; 97:243-269. [PMID: 33369749 DOI: 10.1111/php.13372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
This perspective article highlights the challenges in the theoretical description of photoreceptor proteins using multiscale modeling, as discussed at the CECAM workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel. The participants have identified grand challenges and discussed the development of new tools to address them. Recent progress in understanding representative proteins such as green fluorescent protein, photoactive yellow protein, phytochrome, and rhodopsin is presented, along with methodological developments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Suliman Adam
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Gil S Amoyal
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Avishai Barnoy
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ana-Nicoleta Bondar
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Physics, Theoretical Molecular Biophysics Group, Berlin, Germany
| | - Veniamin A Borin
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Jonathan R Church
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Tatiana Domratcheva
- Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.,Department Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Bernd Ensing
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Science and Amsterdam Center for Multiscale Modeling, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Francesca Fanelli
- Department of Life Sciences, Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | | | - Ofer Filiba
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Laura Pedraza-González
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Ronald González
- Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Rajiv K Kar
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Lukas Kemmler
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Physics, Theoretical Molecular Biophysics Group, Berlin, Germany
| | - Seung Soo Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea
| | - Jacob Kongsted
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Anna I Krylov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yigal Lahav
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, S. Industrial Zone, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
| | - Michalis Lazaratos
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Physics, Theoretical Molecular Biophysics Group, Berlin, Germany
| | - Qays NasserEddin
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Isabelle Navizet
- MSME, Univ Gustave Eiffel, CNRS UMR 8208, Univ Paris Est Creteil, Marne-la-Vallée, France
| | - Alexander Nemukhin
- Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.,Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy.,Chemistry Department, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Jógvan Magnus Haugaard Olsen
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Chemistry, Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Alberto Pérez de Alba Ortíz
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Science and Amsterdam Center for Multiscale Modeling, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Elisa Pieri
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, ICR, Marseille, France
| | - Aditya G Rao
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Young Min Rhee
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea
| | - Niccolò Ricardi
- Département de Chimie Physique, Université de Genève, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Saumik Sen
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ilia A Solov'yov
- Department of Physics, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Luca De Vico
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | | | - Christian Wiebeler
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Xuchun Yang
- Chemistry Department, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Igor Schapiro
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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9
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Sen T, Ma Y, Polyakov IV, Grigorenko BL, Nemukhin AV, Krylov AI. Interplay between Locally Excited and Charge Transfer States Governs the Photoswitching Mechanism in the Fluorescent Protein Dreiklang. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:757-770. [PMID: 33411528 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c09221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
We present the results of high-level electronic structure and dynamics simulations of the photoactive protein Dreiklang. With the goal of understanding the details of the Dreiklang photocycle, we carefully characterize the excited states of the ON- and OFF-forms of Dreiklang. The key finding of our study is the existence of a low-lying excited state of a charge-transfer character in the neutral ON form and that population of this state, which is nearly isoenergetic with the locally excited bright state, initiates a series of steps that ultimately lead to the formation of the hydrated dark chromophore (OFF state). These results allow us to refine the mechanistic picture of Dreiklang's photocycle and photoactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tirthendu Sen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0482, United States
| | - Yingying Ma
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0482, United States
| | - Igor V Polyakov
- Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119992, Russia.,Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Bella L Grigorenko
- Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119992, Russia.,Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Alexander V Nemukhin
- Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119992, Russia.,Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Anna I Krylov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0482, United States
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