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Mukherjee S, Jimenez R. Photophysical Engineering of Fluorescent Proteins: Accomplishments and Challenges of Physical Chemistry Strategies. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:735-750. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c05629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Srijit Mukherjee
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Ralph Jimenez
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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Liang R, Yu JK, Meisner J, Liu F, Martinez TJ. Electrostatic Control of Photoisomerization in Channelrhodopsin 2. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:5425-5437. [PMID: 33794085 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c00058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Channelrhodopsin 2 (ChR2) is the most commonly used tool in optogenetics. Because of its faster photocycle compared to wild-type (WT) ChR2, the E123T mutant of ChR2 is a useful optogenetic tool when fast neuronal stimulation is needed. Interestingly, in spite of its faster photocycle, the initial step of the photocycle in E123T (photoisomerization of retinal protonated Schiff base or RPSB) was found experimentally to be much slower than that of WT ChR2. The E123T mutant replaces the negatively charged E123 residue with a neutral T123 residue, perturbing the electric field around the RPSB. Understanding the RPSB photoisomerization mechanism in ChR2 mutants will provide molecular-level insights into how ChR2 photochemical reactivity can be controlled, which will lay the foundation for improving the design of optogenetic tools. In this work, we combine ab initio nonadiabatic dynamics simulation, excited state free energy calculation, and reaction path search to comprehensively characterize the RPSB photoisomerization mechanism in the E123T mutant of ChR2. Our simulation agrees with previous experiments in predicting a red-shifted absorption spectrum and significant slowdown of photoisomerization in the E123T mutant. Interestingly, our simulations predict similar photoisomerization quantum yields for the mutant and WT despite the differences in excited-state lifetime and absorption maximum. Upon mutation, the neutralization of the negative charge on the E123 residue increases the isomerization barrier, alters the reaction pathway, and changes the relative stability of two fluorescent states. Our findings provide new insight into the intricate role of the electrostatic environment on the RPSB photoisomerization mechanism in microbial rhodopsins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruibin Liang
- Department of Chemistry and The PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Jimmy K Yu
- Department of Chemistry and The PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
- Biophysics Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Jan Meisner
- Department of Chemistry and The PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Fang Liu
- Department of Chemistry and The PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Todd J Martinez
- Department of Chemistry and The PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
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Mechanism of ArcLight derived GEVIs involves electrostatic interactions that can affect proton wires. Biophys J 2021; 120:1916-1926. [PMID: 33744263 PMCID: PMC8204334 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetically encoded voltage indicators ArcLight and its derivatives mediate voltage-dependent optical signals by intermolecular, electrostatic interactions between neighboring fluorescent proteins (FPs). A random mutagenesis event placed a negative charge on the exterior of the FP, resulting in a greater than 10-fold improvement of the voltage-dependent optical signal. Repositioning this negative charge on the exterior of the FP reversed the polarity of voltage-dependent optical signals, suggesting the presence of “hot spots” capable of interacting with the negative charge on a neighboring FP, thereby changing the fluorescent output. To explore the potential effect on the chromophore state, voltage-clamp fluorometry was performed with alternating excitation at 390 nm followed by excitation at 470 nm, resulting in several mutants exhibiting voltage-dependent, ratiometric optical signals of opposing polarities. However, the kinetics, voltage ranges, and optimal FP fusion sites were different depending on the wavelength of excitation. These results suggest that the FP has external, electrostatic pathways capable of quenching fluorescence that are wavelength specific. One mutation to the FP (E222H) showed a voltage-dependent increase in fluorescence when excited at 390 nm, indicating the ability to affect the proton wire from the protonated chromophore to the H222 position. ArcLight-derived sensors may therefore offer a novel way to map how conditions external to the β-can structure can affect the fluorescence of the chromophore and transiently affect those pathways via conformational changes mediated by manipulating membrane potential.
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Drobizhev M, Molina RS, Callis PR, Scott JN, Lambert GG, Salih A, Shaner NC, Hughes TE. Local Electric Field Controls Fluorescence Quantum Yield of Red and Far-Red Fluorescent Proteins. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:633217. [PMID: 33763453 PMCID: PMC7983054 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.633217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetically encoded probes with red-shifted absorption and fluorescence are highly desirable for imaging applications because they can report from deeper tissue layers with lower background and because they provide additional colors for multicolor imaging. Unfortunately, red and especially far-red fluorescent proteins have very low quantum yields, which undermines their other advantages. Elucidating the mechanism of nonradiative relaxation in red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) could help developing ones with higher quantum yields. Here we consider two possible mechanisms of fast nonradiative relaxation of electronic excitation in RFPs. The first, known as the energy gap law, predicts a steep exponential drop of fluorescence quantum yield with a systematic red shift of fluorescence frequency. In this case the relaxation of excitation occurs in the chromophore without any significant changes of its geometry. The second mechanism is related to a twisted intramolecular charge transfer in the excited state, followed by an ultrafast internal conversion. The chromophore twisting can strongly depend on the local electric field because the field can affect the activation energy. We present a spectroscopic method of evaluating local electric fields experienced by the chromophore in the protein environment. The method is based on linear and two-photon absorption spectroscopy, as well as on quantum-mechanically calculated parameters of the isolated chromophore. Using this method, which is substantiated by our molecular dynamics simulations, we obtain the components of electric field in the chromophore plane for seven different RFPs with the same chromophore structure. We find that in five of these RFPs, the nonradiative relaxation rate increases with the strength of the field along the chromophore axis directed from the center of imidazolinone ring to the center of phenolate ring. Furthermore, this rate depends on the corresponding electrostatic energy change (calculated from the known fields and charge displacements), in quantitative agreement with the Marcus theory of charge transfer. This result supports the dominant role of the twisted intramolecular charge transfer mechanism over the energy gap law for most of the studied RFPs. It provides important guidelines of how to shift the absorption wavelength of an RFP to the red, while keeping its brightness reasonably high.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikhail Drobizhev
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | - Rosana S Molina
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | - Patrik R Callis
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | | | - Gerard G Lambert
- Department of Neurosciences, UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Anya Salih
- Antares & Fluoresci Research, Dangar Island, NSW, Australia
| | - Nathan C Shaner
- Department of Neurosciences, UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Thomas E Hughes
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
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Mukherjee S, Hung ST, Douglas N, Manna P, Thomas C, Ekrem A, Palmer AE, Jimenez R. Engineering of a Brighter Variant of the FusionRed Fluorescent Protein Using Lifetime Flow Cytometry and Structure-Guided Mutations. Biochemistry 2020; 59:3669-3682. [PMID: 32914619 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The development of fluorescent proteins (FPs) has revolutionized biological imaging. FusionRed, a monomeric red FP (RFP), is known for its low cytotoxicity and correct localization of target fusion proteins in mammalian cells but is limited in application by low fluorescence brightness. We report a brighter variant of FusionRed, "FR-MQV," which exhibits an extended fluorescence lifetime (2.8 ns), enhanced quantum yield (0.53), higher extinction coefficient (∼140 000 M-1 cm-1), increased radiative rate constant, and reduced nonradiative rate constant with respect to its precursor. The properties of FR-MQV derive from three mutations-M42Q, C159V, and the previously identified L175M. A structure-guided approach was used to identify and mutate candidate residues around the para-hydroxyphenyl and the acylimine sites of the chromophore. The C159V mutation was identified via lifetime-based flow cytometry screening of a library in which multiple residues adjacent to the para-hydroxyphenyl site of the chromophore were mutated. The M42Q mutation is located near the acylimine moiety of the chromophore and was discovered using site-directed mutagenesis guided by X-ray crystal structures. FR-MQV exhibits a 3.4-fold higher molecular brightness and a 5-fold increase in the cellular brightness in HeLa cells [based on fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)] compared to FusionRed. It also retains the low cytotoxicity and high-fidelity localization of FusionRed, as demonstrated through assays in mammalian cells. These properties make FR-MQV a promising template for further engineering into a new family of RFPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srijit Mukherjee
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Sheng-Ting Hung
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Nancy Douglas
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Premashis Manna
- Department of Chemistry, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 18-084, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Connor Thomas
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Annika Ekrem
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Amy E Palmer
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Ralph Jimenez
- JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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Sun T, Li T, Yi K, Gao X. Structure-guided evolution of Green2 toward photostability and quantum yield enhancement by F145Y substitution. Protein Sci 2020; 29:1964-1974. [PMID: 32715541 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Quantum yield is a determinant for fluorescent protein (FP) applications and enhancing FP brightness through gene engineering is still a challenge. Green2, our de novo FP synthesized by microfluidic picoarray and cloning, has a significantly lower quantum yield than enhanced green FP, though they have high homology and share the same chromophore. To increase its quantum yield, we introduced an F145Y substitution into Green2 based on rational structural analysis. Y145 significantly increased the quantum yield (0.22 vs. 0.18) and improved the photostability (t1/2 , 73.0 s vs. 46.0 s), but did not affect the excitation and emission spectra. Further structural analysis showed that the F145Y substitution resulted in a significant electrical field change in the immediate environment of the chromophore. The perturbation of electrostatic charge around the chromophore lead to energy barrier changes between the ground and excited states, which resulted in the enhancement of quantum yield and photostability. Our results illustrate a typical example of engineering an FP based solely on fluorescence efficiency optimization and provide novel insights into the rational evolution of FPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Sun
- College of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang, Shandong, China
| | - Tianpeng Li
- College of City and Architecture Engineering, Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang, Shandong, China.,School of Environment, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan, China.,Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Ke Yi
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Xiaolian Gao
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
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Chung S, Choi SM, Rhee YM. Exploring the Possibility of Excited State Keto‐Enolate Transformation of the Oxyluciferin‐Luciferase Complex with QM/MM Free Energy Simulations. CHEMPHOTOCHEM 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/cptc.201900114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Seyoung Chung
- Department of ChemistryPohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) Pohang 37673 Korea
| | - Sun Mi Choi
- Department of ChemistryPohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) Pohang 37673 Korea
| | - Young Min Rhee
- Department of ChemistryKorea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Daejeon 34141 Korea
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