Disentangling Chromophore States in a Reversibly Switchable Green Fluorescent Protein: Mechanistic Insights from NMR Spectroscopy

Structural Heterogeneity in a Phototransformable Fluorescent Protein Impacts its Photochemical Properties

Photoconvertible fluorescent proteins (PCFP) are important cellular markers in advanced imaging modalities such as photoactivatable localization microscopy (PALM). However, their complex photophysical and photochemical behavior hampers applications such as quantitative and single-particle-tracking PALM. This work employs multidimensional NMR combined with ensemble fluorescence measurements to show that the popular mEos4b in its Green state populates two conformations (A and B), differing in side-chain protonation of the conserved residues E212 and H62,  altering the hydrogen-bond network in the chromophore pocket. The interconversion (protonation/deprotonation) between these two states, which occurs on the minutes time scale in the dark, becomes strongly accelerated in the presence of UV light, leading to a population shift. This work shows that the reversible photoswitching and Green-to-Red photoconversion properties differ between the A and B states. The chromophore in the A-state photoswitches more efficiently and is proposed to be more prone to photoconversion, while the B-state shows a higher level of photobleaching. Altogether, this data highlights the central role of conformational heterogeneity in fluorescent protein photochemistry.

Quantitative determination of the full switching cycle of photochromic fluorescent proteins

In this study, we develop a general analytical model of the photochromism of fluorescent proteins and apply it to spectroscopic measurements performed on six different labels. Our approach provides quantitative explanations for phenomena such as the existence of positive and negative switching, limitations in the photochromism contrast, and the fact that initial switching cycles may differ from subsequent ones. It also allows us to perform the very first measurement of all four isomerization quantum yields involved in the switching process.

Rational Control of Off-State Heterogeneity in a Photoswitchable Fluorescent Protein Provides Switching Contrast Enhancement

Reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent proteins are essential markers for advanced biological imaging, and optimization of their photophysical properties underlies improved performance and novel applications. Here we establish a link between photoswitching contrast, one of the key parameters that dictate the achievable resolution in nanoscopy applications, and chromophore conformation in the non-fluorescent state of rsEGFP2, a widely employed label in REversible Saturable OpticaL Fluorescence Transitions (RESOLFT) microscopy. Upon illumination, the cis chromophore of rsEGFP2 isomerizes to two distinct off-state conformations, trans1 and trans2, located on either side of the V151 side chain. Reducing or enlarging the side chain at this position (V151A and V151L variants) leads to single off-state conformations that exhibit higher and lower switching contrast, respectively, compared to the rsEGFP2 parent. The combination of structural information obtained by serial femtosecond crystallography with high-level quantum chemical calculations and with spectroscopic and photophysical data determined in vitro suggests that the changes in switching contrast arise from blue- and red-shifts of the absorption bands associated to trans1 and trans2, respectively. Thus, due to elimination of trans2, the V151A variants of rsEGFP2 and its superfolding variant rsFolder2 display a more than two-fold higher switching contrast than their respective parent proteins, both in vitro and in E. coli cells. The application of the rsFolder2-V151A variant is demonstrated in RESOLFT nanoscopy. Our study rationalizes the connection between structural and photophysical chromophore properties and suggests a means to rationally improve fluorescent proteins for nanoscopy applications.

Structural Information about the trans-to-cis Isomerization Mechanism of the Photoswitchable Fluorescent Protein rsEGFP2 Revealed by Multiscale Infrared Transient Absorption

RsEGFP2 is a reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein used in super-resolved optical microscopies, which can be toggled between a fluorescent On state and a nonfluorescent Off state. Previous time-resolved ultraviolet-visible spectroscopic studies have shown that the Off-to-On photoactivation extends over the femto- to millisecond time scale and involves two picosecond lifetime excited states and four ground state intermediates, reflecting a trans-to-cis excited state isomerization, a millisecond deprotonation, and protein structural reorganizations. Femto- to millisecond time-resolved multiple-probe infrared spectroscopy (TRMPS-IR) can reveal structural aspects of intermediate species. Here we apply TRMPS-IR to rsEGFP2 and implement a Savitzky-Golay derivative analysis to correct for baseline drift. The results reveal that a subpicosecond twisted excited state precursor controls the trans-to-cis isomerization and the chromophore reaches its final position in the protein pocket within 100 ps. A new step with a time constant of 42 ns is reported and assigned to structural relaxation of the protein that occurs prior to the deprotonation of the chromophore on the millisecond time scale.

Protonation States of Molecular Groups in the Chromophore-Binding Site Modulate Properties of the Reversibly Switchable Fluorescent Protein rsEGFP2

The role of protonation states of the chromophore and its neighboring amino acid side chains of the reversibly switching fluorescent protein rsEGFP2 upon photoswitching is characterized by molecular modeling methods. Numerous conformations of the chromophore-binding site in computationally derived model systems are obtained using the quantum chemistry and QM/MM approaches. Excitation energies are computed using the extended multiconfigurational quasidegenerate perturbation theory (XMCQDPT2). The obtained structures and absorption spectra allow us to provide an interpretation of the observed structural and spectral properties of rsEGFP2 in the active ON and inactive OFF states. The results demonstrate that in addition to the dominating anionic and neutral forms of the chromophore, the cationic and zwitterionic forms may participate in the photoswitching of rsEGFP2. Conformations and protonation forms of the Glu223 and His149 side chains in the chromophore-binding site play an essential role in stabilizing specific protonation forms of the chromophore.