Dynamics of Different Hydrogen Classes in β-lactoglobulin: A Quasielastic Neutron Scattering Investigation

Molecular properties of aqueous solutions: a focus on the collective dynamics of hydration water

When a solute is dissolved in water, their mutual interactions determine the molecular properties of the solute on one hand, and the structure and dynamics of the surrounding water particles (the so-called hydration water) on the other. The very existence of soft matter and its peculiar properties are largely due to the wide variety of possible water-solute interactions. In this context, water is not an inert medium but rather an active component, and hydration water plays a crucial role in determining the structure, stability, dynamics, and function of matter. This review focuses on the collective dynamics of hydration water in terms of retardation with respect to the bulk, and of the number of molecules whose dynamics is perturbed. Since water environments are in a dynamic equilibrium, with molecules continuously exchanging from around the solute towards the bulk and vice versa, we examine the ability of different techniques to measure the water dynamics on the basis of the explored time scales and exchange rates. Special emphasis is given to the collective dynamics probed by extended depolarized light scattering and we discuss whether and to what extent the results obtained in aqueous solutions of small molecules can be extrapolated to the case of large biomacromolecules. In fact, recent experiments performed on solutions of increasing complexity clearly indicate that a reductionist approach is not adequate to describe their collective dynamics. We conclude this review by presenting current ideas that are being developed to describe the dynamics of water interacting with macromolecules.

Collective density fluctuations of DNA hydration water in the time-window below 1 ps

The coherent density fluctuations propagating through DNA hydration water were studied by neutron scattering spectroscopy. Two collective modes were found to be sustained by the aqueous solvent: a propagating excitation, characterised by a speed of about 3500 m/s, and another one placed at about 6 meV. These results globally agree with those previously found for the coherent excitations in bulk water, although in DNA hydration water the speed of propagating modes is definitely higher than that of the pure solvent. The short-wavelength collective excitations of DNA hydration water are reminiscent of those observed in protein hydration water and in the amorphous forms of ice.

Water soluble chlorophyll binding protein of higher plants: a most suitable model system for basic analyses of pigment-pigment and pigment-protein interactions in chlorophyll protein complexes

This short review paper describes spectroscopic studies on pigment-pigment and pigment-protein interactions of chlorophyll (Chl) a and b bound to the recombinant protein of class IIa water soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) from cauliflower. Two Chls form a strongly excitonically coupled open sandwich dimer within the tetrameric protein matrix. In marked contrast to the mode of excitonic coupling of Chl and bacterio-Chl molecules in light harvesting complexes and reaction centers of all photosynthetic organisms, the unique structural pigment array in the Chl dimer of WSCP gives rise to an upper excitonic state with a large oscillator strength. This property opens the way for thorough investigations on exciton relaxation processes in Chl-protein complexes. Lifetime measurements of excited singlet states show that the unusual stability towards photodamage of Chls bound to WSCP, which lack any protective carotenoid molecule, originates from a high diffusion barrier to interaction of molecular dioxygen with Chl triplets. Site selective spectroscopic methods provide a wealth of information on the interactions of the Chls with the protein matrix and on the vibronic structure of the pigments. The presented data and discussions illustrate the great potential of WSCP as a model system for systematic experimental and theoretical studies on the functionalizing of Chls by the protein matrix. It opens the way for further detailed analyses and a deeper understanding of the properties of pigment protein complexes.

Macromolecular dynamics in red blood cells investigated using neutron spectroscopy

We present neutron scattering measurements on the dynamics of haemoglobin (Hb) in human red blood cells (RBCs) in vivo. Global and internal Hb dynamics were measured in the ps to ns time and Å length scales using quasi-elastic neutron backscattering spectroscopy. We observed the cross over from global Hb short-time to long-time self-diffusion. Both short- and long-time diffusion coefficients agree quantitatively with predicted values from the hydrodynamic theory of non-charged hard-sphere suspensions when a bound water fraction of around 0.23 gram H(2)O per gram Hb is taken into account. The higher amount of water in the cells facilitates internal protein fluctuations in the ps time scale when compared with fully hydrated Hb powder. Slower internal dynamics of Hb in RBCs in the ns time range were found to be rather similar to results obtained with fully hydrated protein powders, solutions and Escherichia coli cells.

Collective dynamics of protein hydration water by brillouin neutron spectroscopy

By a detailed experimental study of THz dynamics in the ribonuclease protein, we could detect the propagation of coherent collective density fluctuations within the protein hydration shell. The emerging picture indicates the presence of both a dispersing mode, traveling with a speed greater than 3000 m/s, and a nondispersing one, characterized by an almost constant energy of 6-7 meV. In agreement with molecular dynamics simulations [Phys. Rev. Lett. 2002, 89, 275501], the features of the dispersion curves closely resemble those observed in pure liquid water [Phys. Rev. E: Stat. Phys., Plasmas, Fluids, Relat. Interdiscip. Top. 2004, 69, 061203]. On the contrary, the observed damping factors are much larger than in bulk water, with the dispersing mode becoming overdamped at Q = 0.6 A(-1) already. Such novel experimental findings are discussed as a dynamic signature of the disordering effect induced by the protein surface on the local structure of water.

Temperature- and Hydration-Dependent Protein Dynamics in Photosystem II of Green Plants Studied by Quasielastic Neutron Scattering

Protein dynamics in hydrated and vacuum-dried photosystem II (PS II) membrane fragments from spinach has been investigated by quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) in the temperature range between 5 and 300 K. Three distinct temperature ranges can be clearly distinguished by active type(s) of protein dynamics: (A) At low temperatures (T < 120 K), the protein dynamics of both dry and hydrated PS II is characterized by harmonic vibrational motions. (B) In the intermediate temperature range (120 < T < 240 K), the total mean square displacement <u2>total slightly deviates from the predicted linear behavior. The QENS data indicate that this deviation, which is virtually independent of the extent of hydration, is due to a partial onset of diffusive protein motions. (C) At temperatures above 240 K, the protein flexibility drastically changes because of the onset of diffusive (large-amplitude) protein motions. This dynamical transition is clearly hydration-dependent since it is strongly suppressed in dry PS II. The thermally activated onset of protein flexibility as monitored by QENS is found to be strictly correlated with the temperature-dependent increase of the electron transport efficiency from Q(A)(-) to QB (Garbers et al. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 11399-11404). Analogously, the freezing of protein mobility by dehydration in dry PS II appears to be responsible for the blockage of Q(A)(-) reoxidation by Q(B) at hydration values lower than 45% r.h. (Kaminskaya et al. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 8119-8132). Similar effects were observed for reactions of the water-oxidizing complex as outlined in the Discussion section.

Temperature dependence of protein dynamics as affected by sugars: a neutron scattering study

Neutron scattering data on lysozyme-trehalose and lysozyme-sucrose aqueous mixtures, and on trehalose and sucrose aqueous mixtures are presented for a wide temperature range. Although the degree of protein coupling to solvent seems to be an open question in the literature, we present evidence that seems to be a firm link between a local dynamics of the protein with that of the glassy host. One of the objectives of this study was to explore the relationship between protein dynamics and glassy host. Measuring the <u(2)> of lysozyme mixtures, we arrive at a qualitative description of how their thermal stability is affected by the presence of two sugars at different temperatures. Whereas the Q dependence of the elastic incoherent structure factor gives information about the geometry and the amplitudes of the motions.

Picosecond internal dynamics of lysozyme as affected by thermal unfolding in nonaqueous environment

A neutron-scattering investigation of the internal picosecond dynamics of lysozyme solvated in glycerol as a function of temperature in the range 200-410 K has been undertaken. The inelastic contribution to the measured intensity is characterized by the presence of a bump generally known as "boson peak", clearly distinguishable at low temperature. When the temperature is increased the quasielastic component of the spectrum becomes more and more intrusive and progressively overwhelms the vibrational bump. This happens especially for T > 345 K when the protein goes through an unfolding process, which leads to the complete denaturation. The quasielastic term is the superposition of two components whose intensities and linewidths have been studied as a function of temperature. The slower component describes motions with characteristic times of approximately 4 ps corresponding to reorientations of polypeptide side chains. Both the intensity and linewidth of this kind of relaxations show two distinct regimes with a crossover in the temperature range where the melting process occurs, thus suggesting the presence of a dynamical transition correlated to the protein unfolding. Conversely the faster component might be ascribed to the local dynamics of hydrogen atoms caged by the nearest neighbors with characteristic time of approximately 0.3 ps.

Effect of dehydration on light-induced reactions in photosystem II: photoreactions of cytochrome b559

The effect of dehydration on the reaction pattern of photosystem II (PS II) has been studied by measuring and analyzing spectral changes induced by continuous wavelength illumination in films of untreated and hydroxylamine-washed PS II membrane fragments dehydrated to different levels. The obtained data revealed (i) the extent of light-induced formation of about one Q(A)(-*)per 230 chlorophylls (Chl) remains virtually invariant to dehydration down to the lowest values of relative humidity (6-8% RH); (ii) a decrease of the RH to 30% leads to severe blockage of the electron transfer from Q(A)(-*) to Q(B) and the progressive replacement of water oxidation by photooxidation of high potential (HP) cytochrome (Cyt) b559 in untreated PS II samples or accessory Chl and carotenoid (Car) molecules in samples with preoxidized Cyt b559; (iii) photooxidation of Cyt b559 is followed by its photoreduction, concomitant with photooxidation of Chl and Car; (iv) in dry samples with preoxidized Cyt b559, not more than a half of total Cyt b559 can be photochemically reduced, independent of the extent of Cyt b559 in the HP form; (v) at low RH values, Cyt b559 photoreduction in samples with preoxidized heme groups and photoaccumulation of Q(A)(-*) take place with biphasic kinetics with similar rate constants for both processes; (vi) Cyt b559 photoreduction in dry samples is DCMU insensitive, while the dark rereduction of photooxidized Cyt b559 is inhibited by DCMU; (vii) fast and slow kinetic phases of Cyt b559 photoreduction dramatically differ in their dependencies on the intensity of CW illumination and are associated with electron donation to Cyt b559 from Q(A)(-*) and pheophytin(-*), respectively. The pathways of light-induced electron transfer in PS II involving Cyt b559 are discussed.