1
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Elayan IA, Brown A. Non-Degenerate Two-Photon Absorption of Fluorescent Protein Chromophores. J Phys Chem A 2024. [PMID: 39192559 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c08402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Two-photon absorption (2PA), where a pair of photons are absorbed simultaneously, is recognized as a potent bioimaging technique, which depends on the quantified 2PA probability, defined as cross-section (σ2PA). The absorbed photons either have equivalent (ω1 = ω2) or different frequencies (ω1 ≠ ω2), where the former is degenerate 2PA (D-2PA) and the latter is nondegenerate 2PA (ND-2PA). ND-2PA is of particular interest since it is a promising imaging technology with flexibility of photon frequencies and enhanced cross sections, however, it remains a relatively unexplored area compared to D-2PA. This work utilizes time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and second-order approximate coupled-cluster with the resolution-of-identity approximation (RI-CC2), for the excitation from S0 to S1, to investigate σD-2PA and σND-2PA of FP chromophore models. Interestingly, comparing CAM-B3LYP with the RI-CC2 computations shows qualitative and, in fact, near quantitative agreement in the computed improvements of σND-2PA for comparable (relative) frequency detunings, despite the known underestimations of 2PA cross sections, for TD-DFT results relative to RI-CC2 values. As expected from the 2-state model, the computed values of σND-2PA are quantitatively larger than σD-2PA, where chromophores with the largest values of σD-2PA show greater potential for σND-2PA improvement. Anionic chromophores demonstrated improvements up to 14%, while substantial enhancements were observed in neutral chromophores with some achieving a 30% increase. This work investigates the ND-2PA photophysical characteristics of FP chromophores and identifies qualitative patterns in the computed properties of ND-2PA relative to D-2PA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael A Elayan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
| | - Alex Brown
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
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2
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Almhjell PJ, Johnston KE, Porter NJ, Kennemur JL, Bhethanabotla VC, Ducharme J, Arnold FH. The β-subunit of tryptophan synthase is a latent tyrosine synthase. Nat Chem Biol 2024; 20:1086-1093. [PMID: 38744987 PMCID: PMC11288773 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-024-01619-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Aromatic amino acids and their derivatives are diverse primary and secondary metabolites with critical roles in protein synthesis, cell structure and integrity, defense and signaling. All de novo aromatic amino acid production relies on a set of ancient and highly conserved chemistries. Here we introduce a new enzymatic transformation for L-tyrosine synthesis by demonstrating that the β-subunit of tryptophan synthase-which natively couples indole and L-serine to form L-tryptophan-can act as a latent 'tyrosine synthase'. A single substitution of a near-universally conserved catalytic residue unlocks activity toward simple phenol analogs and yields exclusive para carbon-carbon bond formation to furnish L-tyrosines. Structural and mechanistic studies show how a new active-site water molecule orients phenols for a nonnative mechanism of alkylation, with additional directed evolution resulting in a net >30,000-fold rate enhancement. This new biocatalyst can be used to efficiently prepare valuable L-tyrosine analogs at gram scales and provides the missing chemistry for a conceptually different pathway to L-tyrosine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Almhjell
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kadina E Johnston
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Merck & Co., Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas J Porter
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Codexis, Inc., Redwood City, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer L Kennemur
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Vignesh C Bhethanabotla
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Julie Ducharme
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Quebec Government Office, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Frances H Arnold
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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3
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Hutchison CDM, Perrett S, van Thor JJ. XFEL Beamline Optical Instrumentation for Ultrafast Science. J Phys Chem B 2024. [PMID: 39087627 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c01492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
Free electron lasers operating in the soft and hard X-ray regime provide capabilities for ultrafast science in many areas, including X-ray spectroscopy, diffractive imaging, solution and material scattering, and X-ray crystallography. Ultrafast time-resolved applications in the picosecond, femtosecond, and attosecond regimes are often possible using single-shot experimental configurations. Aside from X-ray pump and X-ray probe measurements, all other types of ultrafast experiments require the synchronized operation of pulsed laser excitation for resonant or nonresonant pumping. This Perspective focuses on the opportunities for the optical control of structural dynamics by applying techniques from nonlinear spectroscopy to ultrafast X-ray experiments. This typically requires the synthesis of two or more optical pulses with full control of pulse and interpulse parameters. To this end, full characterization of the femtosecond optical pulses is also highly desirable. It has recently been shown that two-color and two-pulse femtosecond excitation of fluorescent protein crystals allowed a Tannor-Rice coherent control experiment, performed under characterized conditions. Pulse shaping and the ability to synthesize multicolor and multipulse conditions are highly desirable and would enable XFEL facilities to offer capabilities for structural dynamics. This Perspective will give a summary of examples of the types of experiments that could be achieved, and it will additionally summarize the laser, pulse shaping, and characterization that would be recommended as standard equipment for time-resolved XFEL beamlines, with an emphasis on ultrafast time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D M Hutchison
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel Perrett
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Jasper J van Thor
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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4
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Pieri E, Walker AR, Zhu M, Martínez TJ. Conical Intersection Accessibility Dictates Brightness in Red Fluorescent Proteins. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:17646-17658. [PMID: 38885641 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c00458] [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: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Red fluorescent protein (RFP) variants are highly sought after for in vivo imaging since longer wavelengths improve depth and contrast in fluorescence imaging. However, the lower energy emission wavelength usually correlates with a lower fluorescent quantum yield compared to their green emitting counterparts. To guide the rational design of bright variants, we have theoretically assessed two variants (mScarlet and mRouge) which are reported to have very different brightness. Using an α-CASSCF QM/MM framework (chromophore and all protein residues within 6 Å of it in the QM region, for a total of more than 450 QM atoms), we identify key points on the ground and first excited state potential energy surfaces. The brighter variant mScarlet has a rigid scaffold, and the chromophore stays largely planar on the ground state. The dimmer variant mRouge shows more flexibility and can accommodate a pretwisted chromophore conformation which provides easier access to conical intersections. The main difference between the variants lies in the intersection seam regions, which appear largely inaccessible in mScarlet but partially accessible in mRouge. This observation is mainly related with changes in the cavity charge distribution, the hydrogen-bonding network involving the chromophore and a key ARG/THR mutation (which changes both charge and steric hindrance).
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Pieri
- 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
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Alice R Walker
- 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
- Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202, United States
| | - Mingning Zhu
- 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 Martínez
- 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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5
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Zhong W, Shang L. Photoswitching the fluorescence of nanoparticles for advanced optical applications. Chem Sci 2024; 15:6218-6228. [PMID: 38699274 PMCID: PMC11062085 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc00114a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The dynamic optical response properties and the distinct features of nanomaterials make photoswitchable fluorescent nanoparticles (PF NPs) attractive candidates for advanced optical applications. Over the past few decades, the design of PF NPs by coupling photochromic and fluorescent motifs at the nanoscale has been actively pursued, and substantial efforts have been made to exploit their potential applications. In this perspective, we critically summarize various design principles for fabricating these PF NPs. Then, we discuss their distinct optical properties from different aspects by highlighting the capability of NPs in fabricating new, robust photoswitch systems. Afterwards, we introduce the pivotal role of PF NPs in advanced optical applications, including sensing, anti-counterfeiting and imaging. Finally, current challenges and future development of PF NPs are briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wencheng Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) Xi'an 710072 China
| | - Li Shang
- State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) Xi'an 710072 China
- Research & Development Institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shenzhen Shenzhen 518057 China
- Chongqing Science and Technology Innovation Center of Northwestern Polytechnical University Chongqing 401135 China
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6
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Kang XW, Wang K, Zhang X, Zhong D, Ding B. Elementary Reactions in the Functional Triads of the Blue-Light Photoreceptor BLUF Domain. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:2065-2075. [PMID: 38391132 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07988] [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: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
The blue light using the flavin (BLUF) domain is one of the smallest photoreceptors in nature, which consists of a unique bidirectional electron-coupled proton relay process in its photoactivation reaction cycle. This perspective summarizes our recent efforts in dissecting the photocycle into three elementary processes, including proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET), proton rocking, and proton relay. Using ultrafast spectroscopy, we have determined the temporal sequence, rates, kinetic isotope effects (KIEs), and concertedness of these elementary steps. Our findings provide important implications for illuminating the photoactivation mechanism of the BLUF domain and suggest an engineering platform to characterize intricate reactions involving proton motions that are ubiquitous in nonphotosensitive protein machines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiu-Wen Kang
- Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Kailin Wang
- Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xiaofan Zhang
- Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Dongping Zhong
- Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Programs of Biophysics, Programs of Chemical Physics, and Programs of Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Bei Ding
- Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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7
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List NH, Jones CM, Martínez TJ. Chemical control of excited-state reactivity of the anionic green fluorescent protein chromophore. Commun Chem 2024; 7:25. [PMID: 38316834 PMCID: PMC10844232 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-024-01099-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Controlling excited-state reactivity is a long-standing challenge in photochemistry, as a desired pathway may be inaccessible or compete with other unwanted channels. An important example is internal conversion of the anionic green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore where non-selective progress along two competing torsional modes (P: phenolate and I: imidazolinone) impairs and enables Z-to-E photoisomerization, respectively. Developing strategies to promote photoisomerization could drive new areas of applications of GFP-like proteins. Motivated by the charge-transfer dichotomy of the torsional modes, we explore chemical substitution on the P-ring of the chromophore as a way to control excited-state pathways and improve photoisomerization. As demonstrated by methoxylation, selective P-twisting appears difficult to achieve because the electron-donating potential effects of the substituents are counteracted by inertial effects that directly retard the motion. Conversely, these effects act in concert to promote I-twisting when introducing electron-withdrawing groups. Specifically, 2,3,5-trifluorination leads to both pathway selectivity and a more direct approach to the I-twisted intersection which, in turn, doubles the photoisomerization quantum yield. Our results suggest P-ring engineering as an effective approach to boost photoisomerization of the anionic GFP chromophore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanna H List
- Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Chey M Jones
- Department of Chemistry and The PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Todd J Martínez
- Department of Chemistry and The PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA.
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8
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Mao J, Jin X, Shi M, Heidenreich D, Brown LJ, Brown RCD, Lelli M, He X, Glaubitz C. Molecular mechanisms and evolutionary robustness of a color switch in proteorhodopsins. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj0384. [PMID: 38266078 PMCID: PMC10807816 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj0384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Proteorhodopsins are widely distributed photoreceptors from marine bacteria. Their discovery revealed a high degree of evolutionary adaptation to ambient light, resulting in blue- and green-absorbing variants that correlate with a conserved glutamine/leucine at position 105. On the basis of an integrated approach combining sensitivity-enhanced solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy and linear-scaling quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods, this single residue is shown to be responsible for a variety of synergistically coupled structural and electrostatic changes along the retinal polyene chain, ionone ring, and within the binding pocket. They collectively explain the observed color shift. Furthermore, analysis of the differences in chemical shift between nuclei within the same residues in green and blue proteorhodopsins also reveals a correlation with the respective degree of conservation. Our data show that the highly conserved color change mainly affects other highly conserved residues, illustrating a high degree of robustness of the color phenotype to sequence variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiafei Mao
- Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt, Max von Laue Straße 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Xinsheng Jin
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Molecule Intelligent Syntheses, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Man Shi
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Molecule Intelligent Syntheses, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - David Heidenreich
- Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt, Max von Laue Straße 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Lynda J. Brown
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ UK
| | - Richard C. D. Brown
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ UK
| | - Moreno Lelli
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff” and Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche MetalloProteine (CIRMMP), Via Luigi Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Italy
| | - Xiao He
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Molecule Intelligent Syntheses, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
- New York University–East China Normal University Center for Computational Chemistry, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Clemens Glaubitz
- Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe University Frankfurt, Max von Laue Straße 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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9
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Krueger TD, Henderson JN, Breen IL, Zhu L, Wachter RM, Mills JH, Fang C. Capturing excited-state structural snapshots of evolutionary green-to-red photochromic fluorescent proteins. Front Chem 2023; 11:1328081. [PMID: 38144887 PMCID: PMC10748491 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1328081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Photochromic fluorescent proteins (FPs) have proved to be indispensable luminous probes for sophisticated and advanced bioimaging techniques. Among them, an interplay between photoswitching and photoconversion has only been observed in a limited subset of Kaede-like FPs that show potential for discovering the key mechanistic steps during green-to-red photoconversion. Various spectroscopic techniques including femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS), X-ray crystallography, and femtosecond transient absorption were employed on a set of five related FPs with varying photoconversion and photoswitching efficiencies. A 3-methyl-histidine chromophore derivative, incorporated through amber suppression using orthogonal aminoacyl tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs, displays more dynamic photoswitching but greatly reduced photoconversion versus the least-evolved ancestor (LEA). Excitation-dependent measurements of the green anionic chromophore reveal that the varying photoswitching efficiencies arise from both the initial transient dynamics of the bright cis state and the final trans-like photoswitched off state, with an exocyclic bridge H-rocking motion playing an active role during the excited-state energy dissipation. This investigation establishes a close-knit feedback loop between spectroscopic characterization and protein engineering, which may be especially beneficial to develop more versatile FPs with targeted mutations and enhanced functionalities, such as photoconvertible FPs that also feature photoswitching properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor D. Krueger
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
| | - J. Nathan Henderson
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Isabella L. Breen
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Liangdong Zhu
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
| | - Rebekka M. Wachter
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Jeremy H. Mills
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Chong Fang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
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10
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Hutchison CDM, Baxter JM, Fitzpatrick A, Dorlhiac G, Fadini A, Perrett S, Maghlaoui K, Lefèvre SB, Cordon-Preciado V, Ferreira JL, Chukhutsina VU, Garratt D, Barnard J, Galinis G, Glencross F, Morgan RM, Stockton S, Taylor B, Yuan L, Romei MG, Lin CY, Marangos JP, Schmidt M, Chatrchyan V, Buckup T, Morozov D, Park J, Park S, Eom I, Kim M, Jang D, Choi H, Hyun H, Park G, Nango E, Tanaka R, Owada S, Tono K, DePonte DP, Carbajo S, Seaberg M, Aquila A, Boutet S, Barty A, Iwata S, Boxer SG, Groenhof G, van Thor JJ. Optical control of ultrafast structural dynamics in a fluorescent protein. Nat Chem 2023; 15:1607-1615. [PMID: 37563326 PMCID: PMC10624617 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01275-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
The photoisomerization reaction of a fluorescent protein chromophore occurs on the ultrafast timescale. The structural dynamics that result from femtosecond optical excitation have contributions from vibrational and electronic processes and from reaction dynamics that involve the crossing through a conical intersection. The creation and progression of the ultrafast structural dynamics strongly depends on optical and molecular parameters. When using X-ray crystallography as a probe of ultrafast dynamics, the origin of the observed nuclear motions is not known. Now, high-resolution pump-probe X-ray crystallography reveals complex sub-ångström, ultrafast motions and hydrogen-bonding rearrangements in the active site of a fluorescent protein. However, we demonstrate that the measured motions are not part of the photoisomerization reaction but instead arise from impulsively driven coherent vibrational processes in the electronic ground state. A coherent-control experiment using a two-colour and two-pulse optical excitation strongly amplifies the X-ray crystallographic difference density, while it fully depletes the photoisomerization process. A coherent control mechanism was tested and confirmed the wave packets assignment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James M Baxter
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Ann Fitzpatrick
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science & Innovation Campus, Didcot, UK
| | - Gabriel Dorlhiac
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Alisia Fadini
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Samuel Perrett
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Karim Maghlaoui
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Salomé Bodet Lefèvre
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Violeta Cordon-Preciado
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Josie L Ferreira
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Volha U Chukhutsina
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Douglas Garratt
- Quantum Optics and Laser Science Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jonathan Barnard
- Quantum Optics and Laser Science Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Gediminas Galinis
- Quantum Optics and Laser Science Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Flo Glencross
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Rhodri M Morgan
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sian Stockton
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Ben Taylor
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Letong Yuan
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Matthew G Romei
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Chi-Yun Lin
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jon P Marangos
- Quantum Optics and Laser Science Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Marius Schmidt
- Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Viktoria Chatrchyan
- Physikalisch Chemisches Institut, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tiago Buckup
- Physikalisch Chemisches Institut, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dmitry Morozov
- Nanoscience Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jaehyun Park
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
- Department of Chemical Engineering, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - Sehan Park
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - Intae Eom
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - Minseok Kim
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - Dogeun Jang
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeongi Choi
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - HyoJung Hyun
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - Gisu Park
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang, Republic of Korea
| | - Eriko Nango
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
- Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Rie Tanaka
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shigeki Owada
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Kensuke Tono
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Daniel P DePonte
- Linac Coherent Light Source, Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre (SLAC), National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Sergio Carbajo
- Linac Coherent Light Source, Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre (SLAC), National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Matt Seaberg
- Linac Coherent Light Source, Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre (SLAC), National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Andrew Aquila
- Linac Coherent Light Source, Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre (SLAC), National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Sebastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source, Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre (SLAC), National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Anton Barty
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - So Iwata
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Steven G Boxer
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Gerrit Groenhof
- Nanoscience Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jasper J van Thor
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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11
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Krueger TD, Chen C, Fang C. Targeting Ultrafast Spectroscopic Insights into Red Fluorescent Proteins. Chem Asian J 2023; 18:e202300668. [PMID: 37682793 DOI: 10.1002/asia.202300668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) represent an increasingly popular class of genetically encodable bioprobes and biomarkers that can advance next-generation breakthroughs across the imaging and life sciences. Since the rational design of RFPs with improved functions or enhanced versatility requires a mechanistic understanding of their working mechanisms, while fluorescence is intrinsically an ultrafast event, a suitable toolset involving steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques has become powerful in delineating key structural features and dynamic steps which govern irreversible photoconverting or reversible photoswitching RFPs, and large Stokes shift (LSS)RFPs. The pertinent cis-trans isomerization and protonation state change of RFP chromophores in their local environments, involving key residues in protein matrices, lead to rich and complicated spectral features across multiple timescales. In particular, ultrafast excited-state proton transfer in various LSSRFPs showcases the resolving power of wavelength-tunable femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) in mapping a photocycle with crucial knowledge about the red-emitting species. Moreover, recent progress in noncanonical RFPs with a site-specifically modified chromophore provides an appealing route for efficient engineering of redder and brighter RFPs, highly desirable for bioimaging. Such an effective feedback loop involving physical chemists, protein engineers, and biomedical microscopists will enable future successes to expand fundamental knowledge and improve human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor D Krueger
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331-4003, USA
| | - Cheng Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331-4003, USA
| | - Chong Fang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331-4003, USA
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12
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Ashworth EK, Kao MH, Anstöter CS, Riesco-Llach G, Blancafort L, Solntsev KM, Meech SR, Verlet JRR, Bull JN. Alkylated green fluorescent protein chromophores: dynamics in the gas phase and in aqueous solution. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:23626-23636. [PMID: 37649445 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp03250g] [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: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Fluorescent labelling of macromolecular samples, including using the green fluorescent protein (GFP), has revolutionised the field of bioimaging. The ongoing development of fluorescent proteins require a detailed understanding of the photophysics of the biochromophore, and how chemical derivatisation influences the excited state dynamics. Here, we investigate the photophysical properties associated with the S1 state of three alkylated derivatives of the chromophore in GFP, in the gas phase using time-resolved photoelectron imaging, and in water using femtosecond fluorescence upconversion. The gas-phase lifetimes (1.6-10 ps), which are associated with the intrinsic (environment independent) dynamics, are substantially longer than the lifetimes in water (0.06-3 ps), attributed to stabilisation of both twisted intermediate structures and conical intersection seams in the condensed phase. In the gas phase, alkylation on the 3 and 5 positions of the phenyl ring slows the dynamics due to inertial effects, while a 'pre-twist' of the methine bridge through alkylation on the 2 and 6 positions significantly shortens the excited state lifetimes. Formation of a minor, long-lived (≫ 40 ps) excited state population in the gas phase is attributed to intersystem crossing to a triplet state, accessed because of a T1/S1 degeneracy in the so-called P-trap potential energy minimum associated with torsion of the single-bond in the bridging unit connecting to the phenoxide ring. A small amount of intersystem crossing is supported through TD-DFT molecular dynamics trajectories and MS-CASPT2 calculations. No such intersystem crossing occurs in water at T = 300 K or in ethanol at T ≈ 77 K, due to a significantly altered potential energy surface and P-trap geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor K Ashworth
- School of Chemistry, Norwich Research Park, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
| | - Min-Hsien Kao
- School of Chemistry, Norwich Research Park, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
| | - Cate S Anstöter
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Gerard Riesco-Llach
- Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi and Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, C/M.A. Capmany 69, 17003 Girona, Spain
| | - Lluís Blancafort
- Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi and Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, C/M.A. Capmany 69, 17003 Girona, Spain
| | - Kyril M Solntsev
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Stephen R Meech
- School of Chemistry, Norwich Research Park, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
| | - Jan R R Verlet
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - James N Bull
- School of Chemistry, Norwich Research Park, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
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13
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Zhu HY, Li QS. Theoretical Understanding on the Facilitated Photoisomerization of a Carbonyl Supported Borane System. Chemphyschem 2023:e202300435. [PMID: 37646234 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202300435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Boron compound BOMes2 containing an internal B-O bond undergoes highly efficient photoisomerization, followed by sequential structural transformations, resulting in a rare eight-membered B, O-heterocycle (S. Wang, et al. Org. Lett. 2019, 21, 5285-5289). In this work, the detailed reaction mechanisms of such a unique carbonyl-supported tetracoordinate boron system in the first excited singlet (S1 ) state and the ground (S0 ) state were investigated by using the complete active space self-consistent field and its second-order perturbation (MS-CASPT2//CASSCF) method combined with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). Moreover, an imine-substituted tetracoordinated organic boron system (BNMes2 ) was selected for comparative study to explore the intrinsic reasons for the difference in reactivity between the two types of compounds. Steric factor was found to influence the photoisomerization activity of BNMes2 and BOMes2 . These results rationalize the experimental observations and can provide helpful insights into understanding the excited-state dynamics of heteroatom-doped tetracoordinate organoboron compounds, which facilitates the rational design of boron-based materials with superior photoresponsive performances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Yang Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Electrophotonic Conversion Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Quan-Song Li
- Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Electrophotonic Conversion Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Beijing, P. R. China
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14
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Joron K, Viegas JO, Haas-Neill L, Bier S, Drori P, Dvir S, Lim PSL, Rauscher S, Meshorer E, Lerner E. Fluorescent protein lifetimes report densities and phases of nuclear condensates during embryonic stem-cell differentiation. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4885. [PMID: 37573411 PMCID: PMC10423231 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40647-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Fluorescent proteins (FP) are frequently used for studying proteins inside cells. In advanced fluorescence microscopy, FPs can report on additional intracellular variables. One variable is the local density near FPs, which can be useful in studying densities within cellular bio-condensates. Here, we show that a reduction in fluorescence lifetimes of common monomeric FPs reports increased levels of local densities. We demonstrate the use of this fluorescence-based variable to report the distribution of local densities within heterochromatin protein 1α (HP1α) in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), before and after early differentiation. We find that local densities within HP1α condensates in pluripotent ESCs are heterogeneous and cannot be explained by a single liquid phase. Early differentiation, however, induces a change towards a more homogeneous distribution of local densities, which can be explained as a liquid-like phase. In conclusion, we provide a fluorescence-based method to report increased local densities and apply it to distinguish between homogeneous and heterogeneous local densities within bio-condensates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khalil Joron
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics & Science, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel
| | - Juliane Oliveira Viegas
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Liam Haas-Neill
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A7, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Sariel Bier
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics & Science, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Paz Drori
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics & Science, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel
| | - Shani Dvir
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics & Science, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel
| | - Patrick Siang Lin Lim
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Sarah Rauscher
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A7, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Eran Meshorer
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
- Edmond and Lily Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
| | - Eitan Lerner
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics & Science, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel.
- The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel.
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15
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Chen C, Henderson JN, Ruchkin DA, Kirsh JM, Baranov MS, Bogdanov AM, Mills JH, Boxer SG, Fang C. Structural Characterization of Fluorescent Proteins Using Tunable Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11991. [PMID: 37569365 PMCID: PMC10418586 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241511991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The versatile functions of fluorescent proteins (FPs) as fluorescence biomarkers depend on their intrinsic chromophores interacting with the protein environment. Besides X-ray crystallography, vibrational spectroscopy represents a highly valuable tool for characterizing the chromophore structure and revealing the roles of chromophore-environment interactions. In this work, we aim to benchmark the ground-state vibrational signatures of a series of FPs with emission colors spanning from green, yellow, orange, to red, as well as the solvated model chromophores for some of these FPs, using wavelength-tunable femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) in conjunction with quantum calculations. We systematically analyzed and discussed four factors underlying the vibrational properties of FP chromophores: sidechain structure, conjugation structure, chromophore conformation, and the protein environment. A prominent bond-stretching mode characteristic of the quinoidal resonance structure is found to be conserved in most FPs and model chromophores investigated, which can be used as a vibrational marker to interpret chromophore-environment interactions and structural effects on the electronic properties of the chromophore. The fundamental insights gained for these light-sensing units (e.g., protein active sites) substantiate the unique and powerful capability of wavelength-tunable FSRS in delineating FP chromophore properties with high sensitivity and resolution in solution and protein matrices. The comprehensive characterization for various FPs across a colorful palette could also serve as a solid foundation for future spectroscopic studies and the rational engineering of FPs with diverse and improved functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;
| | - J. Nathan Henderson
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (J.N.H.); (J.H.M.)
| | - Dmitry A. Ruchkin
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulitsa Miklukho-Maklaya, 16/10, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (D.A.R.); (M.S.B.); (A.M.B.)
| | - Jacob M. Kirsh
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (J.M.K.); (S.G.B.)
| | - Mikhail S. Baranov
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulitsa Miklukho-Maklaya, 16/10, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (D.A.R.); (M.S.B.); (A.M.B.)
- Laboratory of Medicinal Substances Chemistry, Institute of Translational Medicine, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ostrovitianov 1, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexey M. Bogdanov
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulitsa Miklukho-Maklaya, 16/10, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (D.A.R.); (M.S.B.); (A.M.B.)
| | - Jeremy H. Mills
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (J.N.H.); (J.H.M.)
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Steven G. Boxer
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; (J.M.K.); (S.G.B.)
| | - Chong Fang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;
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16
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Chen C, Zhang H, Zhang J, Ai HW, Fang C. Structural origin and rational development of bright red noncanonical variants of green fluorescent protein. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:15624-15634. [PMID: 37211909 PMCID: PMC10330862 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp01315d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) into fluorescent proteins is promising for red-shifting their fluorescence and benefiting tissue imaging with deep penetration and low phototoxicity. However, ncAA-based red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) have been rare. The 3-aminotyrosine modified superfolder green fluorescent protein (aY-sfGFP) represents a recent advance, yet the molecular mechanism for its red-shifted fluorescence remains elusive while its dim fluorescence hinders applications. Herein, we implement femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy to obtain structural fingerprints in the electronic ground state and reveal that aY-sfGFP possesses a GFP-like instead of RFP-like chromophore. Red color of aY-sfGFP intrinsically arises from a unique "double-donor" chromophore structure that raises ground-state energy and enhances charge transfer, notably differing from the conventional conjugation mechanism. We further developed two aY-sfGFP mutants (E222H and T203H) with significantly improved (∼12-fold higher) brightness by rationally restraining the chromophore's nonradiative decay through electronic and steric effects, aided by solvatochromic and fluorogenic studies of the model chromophore in solution. This study thus provides functional mechanisms and generalizable insights into ncAA-RFPs with an efficient route for engineering redder and brighter fluorescent proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA.
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA.
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA
| | - Hui-Wang Ai
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA.
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA
- The UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA
| | - Chong Fang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA.
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17
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Yang Z, Wang J, Yin B, Liu W, Yin D, Shen J, Wang W, Li L, Guo X. Stimuli-Induced Subconformation Transformation of the PSI-LHCI Protein at Single-Molecule Resolution. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023:e2205945. [PMID: 37114832 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202205945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Photosynthesis is a very important process for the current biosphere which can maintain such a subtle and stable circulatory ecosystem on earth through the transformation of energy and substance. Even though been widely studied in various aspects, the physiological activities, such as intrinsic structural vibration and self-regulation process to stress of photosynthetic proteins, are still not in-depth resolved in real-time. Herein, utilizing silicon nanowire biosensors with ultrasensitive temporal and spatial resolution, real-time responses of a single photosystem I-light harvesting complex I (PSI-LHCI) supercomplex of Pisum sativum to various conditions, including gradient variations in temperature, illumination, and electric field, are recorded. Under different temperatures, there is a bi-state switch process associated with the intrinsic thermal vibration behavior. When the variations of illumination and the bias voltage are applied, two additional shoulder states, probably derived from the self-conformational adjustment, are observed. Based on real-time monitoring of the dynamic processes of the PSI-LHCI supercomplex under various conditions, it is successively testified to promising nanotechnology for protein profiling and biological functional integration in photosynthesis studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiheng Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, National Biomedical Imaging Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, 292 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Jie Wang
- Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, P. R. China
| | - Bing Yin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, National Biomedical Imaging Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, 292 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Wenzhe Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, National Biomedical Imaging Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, 292 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Dongbao Yin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, National Biomedical Imaging Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, 292 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Jianren Shen
- Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, P. R. China
| | - Wenda Wang
- Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, P. R. China
| | - Lidong Li
- State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
| | - Xuefeng Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, National Biomedical Imaging Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, 292 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
- Center of Single-Molecule Sciences, Institute of Modern Optics, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China
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18
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Zhao X, Li J, Luo J, Liu J. Significant Acceleration of E-Z Photoisomerization induced by Molecular Planarity Breaking. Chem Phys Lett 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2023.140480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
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19
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Liu MX, Xu L, Zhu PF, Li X, Shan M, Jin W, Chen J, Ling Y, Zhang XL. Two-photon excited red-green "discoloration" bioprobes for monitoring lipid droplets and lipid droplet-lysosomal autophagy. J Mater Chem B 2023; 11:3186-3194. [PMID: 36946887 DOI: 10.1039/d2tb02621j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2023]
Abstract
Lipid droplets (LDs) and their autophagy by lysosomes are closely related to a variety of physiological and pathological conditions. Therefore, identifying and tracking LDs and the dynamic process of autophagy can provide useful information for the diagnostics and treatment of related diseases. However, few organic small molecule-based fluorescent probes can specifically recognize LDs and dynamically track their autophagy process. Herein, we synthesized a "discoloration" fluorescent bioprobe DPABP-BI with distinguishable features including red fluorescence emission (630 nm), large Stokes shift (145 nm), two-photon excitation and outstanding photostability and biocompatibility. In particular, LDs could be specifically identified via the red fluorescence emission of DPABP-BI (colocalization constant of 0.98), while autophagolysosomes could be visualized via the green fluorescence emission of its acid-hydrolyzed product (colocalization constant of 0.90) to track the autophagy dynamic process. In addition, DPABP-BI enabled the specific recognition of fatty substances in zebrafish larvae. In this study, a two-photon excited red light small molecule probe was constructed to identify LDs and track their autophagy dynamic process by changing the fluorescence emission wavelength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Xuan Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
| | - Li Xu
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Peng-Fei Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
| | - Xin Li
- School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
| | - Miao Shan
- School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
| | - Wei Jin
- School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Yong Ling
- School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
| | - Xiao-Ling Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
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20
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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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21
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Krueger TD, Tang L, Fang C. Delineating Ultrafast Structural Dynamics of a Green-Red Fluorescent Protein for Calcium Sensing. BIOSENSORS 2023; 13:bios13020218. [PMID: 36831983 PMCID: PMC9954042 DOI: 10.3390/bios13020218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are indispensable tools for noninvasive bioimaging and sensing. Measuring the free cellular calcium (Ca2+) concentrations in vivo with genetically encodable FPs can be a relatively direct measure of neuronal activity due to the complex signaling role of these ions. REX-GECO1 is a recently developed red-green emission and excitation ratiometric FP-based biosensor that achieves a high dynamic range due to differences in the chromophore response to light excitation with and without calcium ions. Using steady-state electronic measurements (UV/Visible absorption and emission), along with time-resolved spectroscopic techniques including femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) and femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS), the potential energy surfaces of these unique biosensors are unveiled with vivid details. The ground-state structural characterization of the Ca2+-free biosensor via FSRS reveals a more spacious protein pocket that allows the chromophore to efficiently twist and reach a dark state. In contrast, the more compressed cavity within the Ca2+-bound biosensor results in a more heterogeneous distribution of chromophore populations that results in multi-step excited state proton transfer (ESPT) pathways on the sub-140 fs, 600 fs, and 3 ps timescales. These results enable rational design strategies to enlarge the spectral separation between the protonated/deprotonated forms and the Stokes shift leading to a larger dynamic range and potentially higher fluorescence quantum yield, which should be broadly applicable to the calcium imaging and biosensor communities.
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22
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Yang Y, Feng RR, Gai F. 4-Cyanotryptophan as a Sensitive Fluorescence Probe of Local Electric Field of Proteins. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:514-519. [PMID: 36598839 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c07605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Electrostatic interactions are key determinants of protein structure, dynamics, and function. Since protein electrostatics are nonuniform, assessment of the internal electric fields (EFs) of proteins requires spatial resolution at the amino acid residue level. In this regard, vibrational Stark spectroscopy, in conjunction with various unnatural amino acid-based vibrational probes, has become a common method for site-specific interrogation of protein EFs. However, application of this method is often limited to proteins with relatively high solubility, due to the intrinsically low oscillator strength of vibrational transitions. Therefore, it would be useful to develop an alternative method that can overcome this limitation. To this end, we show that, using solvatochromic study and molecular dynamics simulations, the frequency of maximum emission intensity of the fluorophore of 4-cyanotryptophan (4CN-Trp), 3-methyl-1H-indole-4-carbonitrile, exhibits a linear dependence on the local EF. Since the absorption and emission spectra of 4CN-Trp are easily distinguishable from those of naturally occurring aromatic amino acids, we believe that this linear relationship provides an easier and more sensitive means to determine the local EF of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyao Yang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Ran-Ran Feng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Feng Gai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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23
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Mukherjee S, Manna P, Douglas N, Chapagain PP, Jimenez R. Conformational Dynamics of mCherry Variants: A Link between Side-Chain Motions and Fluorescence Brightness. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:52-61. [PMID: 36574626 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The 3-fold higher brightness of the recently developed mCherry-XL red fluorescent protein (FP) compared to its progenitor, mCherry, is due to a significant decrease in the nonradiative decay rate underlying its increased fluorescence quantum yield. To examine the structural and dynamic role of the four mutations that distinguish the two FPs and closely related variants, we employed microsecond time scale, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations revealed that the I197R mutation leads to the formation of multiple hydrogen-bonded contacts and increased rigidity of the β-barrel. In particular, mCherryXL showed reduced nanosecond time scale breathing of the gap between the β7 and β10-strands, which was previously shown to be the most flexible region of mCherry. Together with experimental results, the simulations also reveal steric interactions of residue 161 and a network of hydrogen-bonding interactions of the chromophore with residues at positions 59, 143, and 163 that are critical in perturbing the chromophore electronic structure. Finally, we shed light on the conformational dynamics of the conserved residues R95 and S146, which are hydrogen-bonded to the chromophore, and provide physical insights into the observed photophysics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates the conformational space for a set of closely related FPs generated by directed evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srijit Mukherjee
- JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Premashis Manna
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Nancy Douglas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Prem P Chapagain
- Department of Physics, Florida International University, 11200 SW Eighth Street, CP204, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Ralph Jimenez
- JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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24
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Addison K, Roy P, Bressan G, Skudaite K, Robb J, Bulman Page PC, Ashworth EK, Bull JN, Meech SR. Photophysics of the red-form Kaede chromophore. Chem Sci 2023; 14:3763-3775. [PMID: 37035701 PMCID: PMC10074405 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc00368j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The chromophore responsible for colour switching in the optical highlighting protein Kaede has unexpectedly complicated excited state dynamics, which are measured and analysed here. This will inform the development of new imaging proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiri Addison
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Palas Roy
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Giovanni Bressan
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Karolina Skudaite
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Josh Robb
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | | | - Eleanor K. Ashworth
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - James N. Bull
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Stephen R. Meech
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
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25
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Rajbongshi BK, Rafiq S, Bhowmik S, Sen P. Ultrafast Excited State Relaxation of a Model Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore: Femtosecond Fluorescence and Transient Absorption Study. J Mol Struct 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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26
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Barneschi L, Marsili E, Pedraza-González L, Padula D, De Vico L, Kaliakin D, Blanco-González A, Ferré N, Huix-Rotllant M, Filatov M, Olivucci M. On the fluorescence enhancement of arch neuronal optogenetic reporters. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6432. [PMID: 36307417 PMCID: PMC9616920 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33993-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The lack of a theory capable of connecting the amino acid sequence of a light-absorbing protein with its fluorescence brightness is hampering the development of tools for understanding neuronal communications. Here we demonstrate that a theory can be established by constructing quantum chemical models of a set of Archaerhodopsin reporters in their electronically excited state. We found that the experimentally observed increase in fluorescence quantum yield is proportional to the computed decrease in energy difference between the fluorescent state and a nearby photoisomerization channel leading to an exotic diradical of the protein chromophore. This finding will ultimately support the development of technologies for searching novel fluorescent rhodopsin variants and unveil electrostatic changes that make light emission brighter and brighter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Barneschi
- grid.9024.f0000 0004 1757 4641Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Emanuele Marsili
- grid.9024.f0000 0004 1757 4641Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy ,grid.8250.f0000 0000 8700 0572University of Durham, Department of Chemistry, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE United Kingdom ,grid.5337.20000 0004 1936 7603Present Address: Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Pedraza-González
- grid.9024.f0000 0004 1757 4641Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy ,grid.5395.a0000 0004 1757 3729Present Address: Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi, 13, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Daniele Padula
- grid.9024.f0000 0004 1757 4641Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Luca De Vico
- grid.9024.f0000 0004 1757 4641Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Danil Kaliakin
- grid.253248.a0000 0001 0661 0035Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403 USA
| | - Alejandro Blanco-González
- grid.253248.a0000 0001 0661 0035Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403 USA
| | - Nicolas Ferré
- grid.462456.70000 0004 4902 8637Institut de Chimie Radicalaire (UMR-7273), Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, 13397 Marseille, Cedex 20 France
| | - Miquel Huix-Rotllant
- grid.462456.70000 0004 4902 8637Institut de Chimie Radicalaire (UMR-7273), Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, 13397 Marseille, Cedex 20 France
| | - Michael Filatov
- grid.258803.40000 0001 0661 1556Department of Chemistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 702-701 South Korea
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- grid.9024.f0000 0004 1757 4641Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy ,grid.253248.a0000 0001 0661 0035Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403 USA ,grid.11843.3f0000 0001 2157 9291University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Studies, 5, alleé duGeń eŕ al Rouvillois, F-67083 Strasbourg, France
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27
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Lin YC, Ren P, Webb LJ. AMOEBA Force Field Trajectories Improve Predictions of Accurate p Ka Values of the GFP Fluorophore: The Importance of Polarizability and Water Interactions. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7806-7817. [PMID: 36194474 PMCID: PMC10851343 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c03642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Precisely quantifying the magnitude, direction, and biological functions of electric fields in proteins has long been an outstanding challenge in the field. The most widely implemented experimental method to measure such electric fields at a particular residue in a protein has been through changes in pKa of titratable residues. While many computational strategies exist to predict these values, it has been difficult to do this accurately or connect predicted results to key structural or mechanistic features of the molecule. Here, we used experimentally determined pKa values of the fluorophore in superfolder green fluorescent protein (GFP) with amino acid mutations made at position Thr 203 to evaluate the pKa prediction ability of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using a polarizable force field, AMOEBA. Structure ensembles from AMOEBA were used to calculate pKa values of the GFP fluorophore. The calculated pKa values were then compared to trajectories using a conventional fixed charge force field (Amber03 ff). We found that the position of water molecules included in the pKa calculation had opposite effects on the pKa values between the trajectories from AMOEBA and Amber03 force fields. In AMOEBA trajectories, the inclusion of water molecules within 35 Å of the fluorophore decreased the difference between the predicted and experimental values, resulting in calculated pKa values that were within an average of 0.8 pKa unit from the experimental results. On the other hand, in Amber03 trajectories, including water molecules that were more than 5 Å from the fluorophore increased the differences between the calculated and experimental pKa values. The inaccuracy of pKa predictions determined from Amber03 trajectories was caused by a significant stabilization of the deprotonated chromophore's free energy compared to the result in AMOEBA. We rationalize the cutoffs for explicit water molecules when calculating pKa to better predict the electrostatic environment surrounding the fluorophore buried in GFP. We discuss how the results from this work will assist the prospective prediction of pKa values or other electrostatic effects in a wide variety of folded proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chun Lin
- Department of Chemistry, Texas Materials Institute, and Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Program, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E 24th St. STOP A5300, Austin, TX 78712-1224
| | - Pengyu Ren
- Department of Chemistry, Texas Materials Institute, and Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Program, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E 24th St. STOP A5300, Austin, TX 78712-1224
| | - Lauren J. Webb
- Department of Chemistry, Texas Materials Institute, and Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Program, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E 24th St. STOP A5300, Austin, TX 78712-1224
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28
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Liu X, Liu P, Li H, Xu Z, Jia L, Xia Y, Yu M, Tang W, Zhu X, Chen C, Zhang Y, Nango E, Tanaka R, Luo F, Kato K, Nakajima Y, Kishi S, Yu H, Matsubara N, Owada S, Tono K, Iwata S, Yu LJ, Shen JR, Wang J. Excited-state intermediates in a designer protein encoding a phototrigger caught by an X-ray free-electron laser. Nat Chem 2022; 14:1054-1060. [DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-00992-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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29
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Jones CM, List NH, Martínez TJ. Steric and Electronic Origins of Fluorescence in GFP and GFP-like Proteins. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:12732-12746. [PMID: 35786916 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c02946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Fluorescent proteins have become routine tools for biological imaging. However, their nanosecond lifetimes on the excited state present computational hurdles to a full understanding of these photoactive proteins. In this work, we simulate approximately 0.5 nanoseconds of ab initio molecular dynamics to elucidate steric and electronic features responsible for fluorescent protein behavior. Using green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Dronpa2─widely used fluorescent proteins with contrasting functionality─as case studies, we leverage previous findings in the gas phase and solution to explore the deactivation mechanisms available to these proteins. Starting with ground-state analyses, we identify steric (the distribution of empty pockets near the chromophore) and electronic (electric fields exerted on chromophore moieties) factors that offer potential avenues for rational design. Picosecond timescale simulations on the excited state reveal that the chromophore can access twisted structures in Dronpa2, while the chromophore is largely confined to planarity in GFP. We couple ab initio multiple spawning (AIMS) and enhanced sampling simulations to discover and characterize conical intersection seams that facilitate internal conversion, which is a rare event in both systems. Our AIMS simulations correctly capture the relative fluorescence profiles of GFP and Dronpa2 within the first few picoseconds, and we attribute the diminished fluorescence intensity of Dronpa2, relative to GFP, to flexible chromophore intermediates on the excited state. Furthermore, we predict that twisted chromophore intermediates produce red-shifted intensities in the Dronpa2 fluorescence spectrum. If confirmed experimentally, this spectroscopic signature would provide valuable insights when screening and developing novel fluorescent proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chey M Jones
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States.,SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Nanna H List
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States.,SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Todd J Martínez
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States.,SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
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30
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Mukherjee S, Manna P, Hung ST, Vietmeyer F, Friis P, Palmer AE, Jimenez R. Directed Evolution of a Bright Variant of mCherry: Suppression of Nonradiative Decay by Fluorescence Lifetime Selections. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:4659-4668. [PMID: 35709514 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The approximately linear scaling of fluorescence quantum yield (ϕ) with fluorescence lifetime (τ) in fluorescent proteins (FPs) has inspired engineering of brighter fluorophores based on screening for increased lifetimes. Several recently developed FPs such as mTurquoise2, mScarlet, and FusionRed-MQV which have become useful for live cell imaging are products of lifetime selection strategies. However, the underlying photophysical basis of the improved brightness has not been scrutinized. In this study, we focused on understanding the outcome of lifetime-based directed evolution of mCherry, which is a popular red-FP (RFP). We identified four positions (W143, I161, Q163, and I197) near the FP chromophore that can be mutated to create mCherry-XL (eXtended Lifetime: ϕ = 0.70; τ = 3.9 ns). The 3-fold higher quantum yield of mCherry-XL is on par with that of the brightest RFP to date, mScarlet. We examined selected variants within the evolution trajectory and found a near-linear scaling of lifetime with quantum yield and consistent blue-shifts of the absorption and emission spectra. We find that the improvement in brightness is primarily due to a decrease in the nonradiative decay of the excited state. In addition, our analysis revealed the decrease in nonradiative rate is not limited to the blue-shift of the energy gap and changes in the excited state reorganization energy. Our findings suggest that nonradiative mechanisms beyond the scope of energy-gap models such the Englman-Jortner model are suppressed in this lifetime evolution trajectory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srijit Mukherjee
- JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Premashis Manna
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Sheng-Ting Hung
- Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
| | - Felix Vietmeyer
- JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Pia Friis
- JILA, University of Colorado, 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, Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, 215 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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31
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Wu X, Tan D, Qiao Q, Yin W, Xu Z, Liu X. Molecular origins of the multi-donor strategy in inducing bathochromic shifts and enlarging Stokes shifts of fluorescent proteins. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:15937-15944. [PMID: 35727090 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00759b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Long-wavelength fluorescent proteins (LWFPs) and LWFP-based sensors are indispensable tools for bioimaging and biosensing applications. However, it remains challenging to develop LWFPs with outstanding brightness and/or sensitivities, largely due to the lack of simple and effective molecular design strategies. Herein, we rationalized the molecular origins of a multi-donor strategy that affords significant bathochromic shifts and large Stokes shifts with minimal structural changes in the resulting protein fluorophores. We analyzed three key factors that affect the spectral properties of these fluorophores, including the (1) substituent position, (2) electron-donating strength, and (3) number of electron-donating groups. We further demonstrated that this simple design strategy is generalizable to various fluorophore families. We expect that this work can provide rational guidelines for developing fluorescent proteins (and small-molecule fluorophores) with long emission wavelengths and large Stokes shifts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia Wu
- Fluorescence Research Group, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore, 487372, Singapore.
| | - Davin Tan
- Fluorescence Research Group, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore, 487372, Singapore.
| | - Qinglong Qiao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Wenting Yin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Zhaochao Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Xiaogang Liu
- Fluorescence Research Group, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore, 487372, Singapore.
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32
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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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33
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Weberg AB, Murphy RP, Tomson NC. Oriented internal electrostatic fields: an emerging design element in coordination chemistry and catalysis. Chem Sci 2022; 13:5432-5446. [PMID: 35694353 PMCID: PMC9116365 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc01715f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The power of oriented electrostatic fields (ESFs) to influence chemical bonding and reactivity is a phenomenon of rapidly growing interest. The presence of strong ESFs has recently been implicated as one of the most significant contributors to the activity of select enzymes, wherein alignment of a substrate's changing dipole moment with a strong, local electrostatic field has been shown to be responsible for the majority of the enzymatic rate enhancement. Outside of enzymology, researchers have studied the impacts of "internal" electrostatic fields via the addition of ionic salts to reactions and the incorporation of charged functional groups into organic molecules (both experimentally and computationally), and "externally" via the implementation of bulk fields between electrode plates. Incorporation of charged moieties into homogeneous inorganic complexes to generate internal ESFs represents an area of high potential for novel catalyst design. This field has only begun to materialize within the past 10 years but could be an area of significant impact moving forward, since it provides a means for tuning the properties of molecular complexes via a method that is orthogonal to traditional strategies, thereby providing possibilities for improved catalytic conditions and novel reactivity. In this perspective, we highlight recent developments in this area and offer insights, obtained from our own research, on the challenges and future directions of this emerging field of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander B Weberg
- R, oy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania 231 S. 34th Street Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19104 USA
| | - Ryan P Murphy
- R, oy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania 231 S. 34th Street Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19104 USA
| | - Neil C Tomson
- R, oy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania 231 S. 34th Street Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19104 USA
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34
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Zhai L, Nakashima R, Shinoda H, Ike Y, Matsuda T, Nagai T. Structure-based analysis and evolution of a monomerized red-colored chromoprotein from the Olindias formosa jellyfish. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4285. [PMID: 35481635 PMCID: PMC8994484 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
GFP-like chromoproteins (CPs) with non-fluorescence ability have been used as bioimaging probes. Existing CPs have voids in the optical absorption window which limits their extensibility. The development of new CP color is therefore ongoing. Here, we cloned CPs from the jellyfish, Olindias formosa, and developed a completely non-fluorescent monomeric red CP, R-Velour, with an absorption peak at 528 nm. To analyze the photophysical properties from a structural aspect, we determined the crystal structure of R-Velour at a 2.1 Å resolution. R-Velour has a trans-chromophore similar to the green fluorescence protein, Gamillus, derived from the same jellyfish. However, in contrast to the two coplanar chromophoric rings in Gamillus, R-Velour has a large torsion inducing non-fluorescence property. Through site-directed mutagenesis, we surveyed residues surrounding the chromophore and found a key residue, Ser155, which contributes to the generation of four-color variants with the bathochromic and hypsochromic shift of the absorption peak, ranging from 506 to 554 nm. The recently proposed spectrum shift theory, based on the Marcus-Hush model, supports the spectrum shift of these mutants. These findings may support further development of R-Velour variants with useful absorption characteristics for bioimaging, including fluorescence lifetime imaging and photoacoustic imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Zhai
- Graduate School of Frontier BioscienceOsaka UniversitySuitaJapan
- SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research)Osaka UniversityIbarakiJapan
| | - Ryosuke Nakashima
- SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research)Osaka UniversityIbarakiJapan
| | - Hajime Shinoda
- SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research)Osaka UniversityIbarakiJapan
| | - Yoshimasa Ike
- SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research)Osaka UniversityIbarakiJapan
- Department of BiotechnologyGraduate School of Engineering, Osaka UniversitySuitaJapan
| | - Tomoki Matsuda
- SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research)Osaka UniversityIbarakiJapan
- Department of BiotechnologyGraduate School of Engineering, Osaka UniversitySuitaJapan
| | - Takeharu Nagai
- Graduate School of Frontier BioscienceOsaka UniversitySuitaJapan
- SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research)Osaka UniversityIbarakiJapan
- Department of BiotechnologyGraduate School of Engineering, Osaka UniversitySuitaJapan
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35
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Hostetter ER, Keyes JR, Poon I, Nguyen JP, Nite JM, Jimenez Hoyos CA, Smith CA. Prediction of Fluorophore Brightness in Designed Mini Fluorescence Activating Proteins. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:3190-3203. [PMID: 35417158 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The de novo computational design of proteins with predefined three-dimensional structure is becoming much more routine due to advancements both in force fields and algorithms. However, creating designs with functions beyond folding is more challenging. In that regard, the recent design of small beta barrel proteins that activate the fluorescence of an exogenous small molecule chromophore (DFHBI) is noteworthy. These proteins, termed mini fluorescence activating proteins (mFAPs), have been shown to increase the brightness of the chromophore more than 100-fold upon binding to the designed ligand pocket. The design process created a large library of variants with different brightness levels but gave no rational explanation for why one variant was brighter than another. Here, we use quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how molecular flexibility in the ground and excited states influences brightness. We show that the ability of the protein to resist dihedral angle rotation of the chromophore is critical for predicting brightness. Our simulations suggest that the mFAP/DFHBI complex has a rough energy landscape, requiring extensive ground-state sampling to achieve converged predictions of excited-state kinetics. While computationally demanding, this roughness suggests that mFAP protein function can be enhanced by reshaping the energy landscape toward conformations that better resist DFHBI bond rotation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma R Hostetter
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Jeffrey R Keyes
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Ivy Poon
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Justin P Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Jacob M Nite
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | -
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Carlos A Jimenez Hoyos
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Colin A Smith
- Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
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36
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Cha M, Emre EST, Xiao X, Kim JY, Bogdan P, VanEpps JS, Violi A, Kotov NA. Unifying structural descriptors for biological and bioinspired nanoscale complexes. NATURE COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE 2022; 2:243-252. [PMID: 38177552 DOI: 10.1038/s43588-022-00229-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Biomimetic nanoparticles are known to serve as nanoscale adjuvants, enzyme mimics and amyloid fibrillation inhibitors. Their further development requires better understanding of their interactions with proteins. The abundant knowledge about protein-protein interactions can serve as a guide for designing protein-nanoparticle assemblies, but the chemical and biological inputs used in computational packages for protein-protein interactions are not applicable to inorganic nanoparticles. Analysing chemical, geometrical and graph-theoretical descriptors for protein complexes, we found that geometrical and graph-theoretical descriptors are uniformly applicable to biological and inorganic nanostructures and can predict interaction sites in protein pairs with accuracy >80% and classification probability ~90%. We extended the machine-learning algorithms trained on protein-protein interactions to inorganic nanoparticles and found a nearly exact match between experimental and predicted interaction sites with proteins. These findings can be extended to other organic and inorganic nanoparticles to predict their assemblies with biomolecules and other chemical structures forming lock-and-key complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minjeong Cha
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Emine Sumeyra Turali Emre
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Xiongye Xiao
- Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ji-Young Kim
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Paul Bogdan
- Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - J Scott VanEpps
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Program in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Angela Violi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Biophysics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Nicholas A Kotov
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Program in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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37
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Pedraza-González L, Barneschi L, Padula D, De Vico L, Olivucci M. Evolution of the Automatic Rhodopsin Modeling (ARM) Protocol. Top Curr Chem (Cham) 2022; 380:21. [PMID: 35291019 PMCID: PMC8924150 DOI: 10.1007/s41061-022-00374-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, photoactive proteins such as rhodopsins have become a common target for cutting-edge research in the field of optogenetics. Alongside wet-lab research, computational methods are also developing rapidly to provide the necessary tools to analyze and rationalize experimental results and, most of all, drive the design of novel systems. The Automatic Rhodopsin Modeling (ARM) protocol is focused on providing exactly the necessary computational tools to study rhodopsins, those being either natural or resulting from mutations. The code has evolved along the years to finally provide results that are reproducible by any user, accurate and reliable so as to replicate experimental trends. Furthermore, the code is efficient in terms of necessary computing resources and time, and scalable in terms of both number of concurrent calculations as well as features. In this review, we will show how the code underlying ARM achieved each of these properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Pedraza-González
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy. .,Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Leonardo Barneschi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Daniele Padula
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Luca De Vico
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy.
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy. .,Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA.
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38
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Lin CY, Romei MG, Mathews II, Boxer SG. Energetic Basis and Design of Enzyme Function Demonstrated Using GFP, an Excited-State Enzyme. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:3968-3978. [PMID: 35200017 PMCID: PMC9014791 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c12305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The past decades have witnessed an explosion of de novo protein designs with a remarkable range of scaffolds. It remains challenging, however, to design catalytic functions that are competitive with naturally occurring counterparts as well as biomimetic or nonbiological catalysts. Although directed evolution often offers efficient solutions, the fitness landscape remains opaque. Green fluorescent protein (GFP), which has revolutionized biological imaging and assays, is one of the most redesigned proteins. While not an enzyme in the conventional sense, GFPs feature competing excited-state decay pathways with the same steric and electrostatic origins as conventional ground-state catalysts, and they exert exquisite control over multiple reaction outcomes through the same principles. Thus, GFP is an "excited-state enzyme". Herein we show that rationally designed mutants and hybrids that contain environmental mutations and substituted chromophores provide the basis for a quantitative model and prediction that describes the influence of sterics and electrostatics on excited-state catalysis of GFPs. As both perturbations can selectively bias photoisomerization pathways, GFPs with fluorescence quantum yields (FQYs) and photoswitching characteristics tailored for specific applications could be predicted and then demonstrated. The underlying energetic landscape, readily accessible via spectroscopy for GFPs, offers an important missing link in the design of protein function that is generalizable to catalyst design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Yun Lin
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Matthew G Romei
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Irimpan I Mathews
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Steven G Boxer
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
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39
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Quantum-classical simulations of rhodopsin reveal excited-state population splitting and its effects on quantum efficiency. Nat Chem 2022; 14:441-449. [PMID: 35241801 PMCID: PMC8983576 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-00892-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The activation of rhodopsin, the light-sensitive G-protein coupled receptor responsible for dim-light vision in vertebrates, is driven by an ultrafast excited-state double-bond isomerization with a quantum efficiency of almost 70%. The origin of such light sensitivity is not understood and a key question is whether in-phase nuclear motion controls the quantum efficiency value. Here, we use hundreds of quantum-classical trajectories to show that, 15 femtoseconds after light absorption, a degeneracy between the reactive excited state and a neighboring state causes the splitting of the rhodopsin population into subpopulations. These subpopulations propagate with different velocities and lead to distinct contributions to the quantum efficiency. We also show that such splitting is modulated by protein electrostatics, thus linking amino-acid sequence variations to quantum efficiency modulation. Finally, we discuss how such a linkage that in principle could be exploited to achieve higher quantum efficiencies, would simultaneously increase the receptor thermal noise leading to a trade-off that may have played a role in rhodopsin evolution.
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40
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Ashworth EK, Stockett MH, Kjær C, Bulman Page PC, Meech SR, Nielsen SB, Bull JN. Complexation of Green and Red Kaede Fluorescent Protein Chromophores by a Zwitterion to Probe Electrostatic and Induction Field Effects. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:1158-1167. [PMID: 35138862 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.1c10628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The photophysics of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and red Kaede fluorescent protein (rKFP) are defined by the intrinsic properties of the light-absorbing chromophore and its interaction with the protein binding pocket. This work deploys photodissociation action spectroscopy to probe the absorption profiles for a series of synthetic GFP and rKFP chromophores as the bare anions and as complexes with the betaine zwitterion, which is assumed as a model for dipole microsolvation. Electronic structure calculations and energy decomposition analysis using Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory are used to characterize gas-phase structures and complex cohesion forces. The calculations reveal a preponderance for coordination of betaine to the phenoxide deprotonation site predominantly through electrostatic forces. Calculations using the STEOM-DLPNO-CCSD method are able to reproduce absolute and relative vertical excitation energies for the bare anions and anion-betaine complexes. On the other hand, treatment of the betaine molecule with a point-charge model, in which the charges are computed from some common electron density population analysis schemes, show that just electrostatic and point-charge induction interactions are unable to account for the betaine-induced spectral shift. The present methodology could be applied to investigate cluster forces and optical properties in other gas-phase ion-zwitterion complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor K Ashworth
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Mark H Stockett
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christina Kjær
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Philip C Bulman Page
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen R Meech
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | | | - James N Bull
- School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
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41
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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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42
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Shen C, Wang X, He X. Fragment-Based Quantum Mechanical Calculation of Excited-State Properties of Fluorescent RNAs. Front Chem 2022; 9:801062. [PMID: 35004616 PMCID: PMC8727457 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.801062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluorescent RNA aptamers have been successfully applied to track and tag RNA in a biological system. However, it is still challenging to predict the excited-state properties of the RNA aptamer–fluorophore complex with the traditional electronic structure methods due to expensive computational costs. In this study, an accurate and efficient fragmentation quantum mechanical (QM) approach of the electrostatically embedded generalized molecular fractionation with conjugate caps (EE-GMFCC) scheme was applied for calculations of excited-state properties of the RNA aptamer–fluorophore complex. In this method, the excited-state properties were first calculated with one-body fragment quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculation (the excited-state properties of the fluorophore) and then corrected with a series of two-body fragment QM calculations for accounting for the QM effects from the RNA on the excited-state properties of the fluorophore. The performance of the EE-GMFCC on prediction of the absolute excitation energies, the corresponding transition electric dipole moment (TEDM), and atomic forces at both the TD-HF and TD-DFT levels was tested using the Mango-II RNA aptamer system as a model system. The results demonstrate that the calculated excited-state properties by EE-GMFCC are in excellent agreement with the traditional full-system time-dependent ab initio calculations. Moreover, the EE-GMFCC method is capable of providing an accurate prediction of the relative conformational excited-state energies for different configurations of the Mango-II RNA aptamer system extracted from the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The fragmentation method further provides a straightforward approach to decompose the excitation energy contribution per ribonucleotide around the fluorophore and then reveals the influence of the local chemical environment on the fluorophore. The applications of EE-GMFCC in calculations of excitation energies for other RNA aptamer–fluorophore complexes demonstrate that the EE-GMFCC method is a general approach for accurate and efficient calculations of excited-state properties of fluorescent RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenfei Shen
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xianwei Wang
- College of Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao He
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.,New York University-East China Normal University Center for Computational Chemistry at New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
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43
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List NH, Jones CM, Martínez TJ. Internal conversion of the anionic GFP chromophore: in and out of the I-twisted S 1/S 0 conical intersection seam. Chem Sci 2022; 13:373-385. [PMID: 35126970 PMCID: PMC8729814 DOI: 10.1039/d1sc05849e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The functional diversity of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) family is intimately connected to the interplay between competing photo-induced transformations of the chromophore motif, anionic p-hydroxybenzylidene-2,3-dimethylimidazolinone (HBDI-). Its ability to undergo Z/E-isomerization is of particular importance for super-resolution microscopy and emerging opportunities in optogenetics. Yet, key dynamical features of the underlying internal conversion process in the native HBDI- chromophore remain largely elusive. We investigate the intrinsic excited-state behavior of isolated HBDI- to resolve competing decay pathways and map out the factors governing efficiency and the stereochemical outcome of photoisomerization. Based on non-adiabatic dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that non-selective progress along the two bridge-torsional (i.e., phenolate, P, or imidazolinone, I) pathways accounts for the three decay constants reported experimentally, leading to competing ultrafast relaxation primarily along the I-twisted pathway and S1 trapping along the P-torsion. The majority of the population (∼70%) is transferred to S0 in the vicinity of two approximately enantiomeric minima on the I-twisted intersection seam (MECI-Is). Despite their sloped, reactant-biased topographies (suggesting low photoproduct yields), we find that decay through these intersections leads to products with a surprisingly high quantum yield of ∼30%. This demonstrates that E-isomer generation results at least in part from direct isomerization on the excited state. A photoisomerization committor analysis reveals a difference in intrinsic photoreactivity of the two MECI-Is and that the observed photoisomerization is the combined result of two effects: early, non-statistical dynamics around the less reactive intersection followed by later, near-statistical behavior around the more reactive MECI-I. Our work offers new insight into internal conversion of HBDI- that both establishes the intrinsic properties of the chromophore and enlightens principles for the design of chromophore derivatives and protein variants with improved photoswitching properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanna H List
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University Stanford CA 94305 USA .,SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 2575 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park CA 94025 USA
| | - Chey M Jones
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University Stanford CA 94305 USA .,SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 2575 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park CA 94025 USA
| | - Todd J Martínez
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University Stanford CA 94305 USA .,SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 2575 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park CA 94025 USA
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44
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Tassone G, Paolino M, Pozzi C, Reale A, Salvini L, Giorgi G, Orlandini M, Galvagni F, Mangani S, Yang X, Carlotti B, Ortica F, Latterini L, Olivucci M, Cappelli A. Xanthopsin-Like Systems via Site-Specific Click-Functionalization of a Retinoic Acid Binding Protein. Chembiochem 2022; 23:e202100449. [PMID: 34647400 PMCID: PMC8934143 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The use of light-responsive proteins to control both living or synthetic cells, is at the core of the expanding fields of optogenetics and synthetic biology. It is thus apparent that a richer reaction toolbox for the preparation of such systems is of fundamental importance. Here, we provide a proof-of-principle demonstration that Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts can be employed to perform a facile site-specific, irreversible and diastereoselective click-functionalization of a lysine residue buried into a lipophilic binding pocket and yielding an unnatural chromophore with an extended π-system. In doing so we effectively open the path to the in vitro preparation of a library of synthetic proteins structurally reminiscent of xanthopsin eubacterial photoreceptors. We argue that such a library, made of variable unnatural chromophores inserted in an easy-to-mutate and crystallize retinoic acid transporter, significantly expand the scope of the recently introduced rhodopsin mimics as both optogenetic and "lab-on-a-molecule" tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giusy Tassone
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Marco Paolino
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Cecilia Pozzi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Annalisa Reale
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Laura Salvini
- Toscana Life Sciences Foundation, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Gianluca Giorgi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Maurizio Orlandini
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Federico Galvagni
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Stefano Mangani
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Xuchun Yang
- Chemistry Department, Bowling Green State University, Overman Hall, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA
| | - Benedetta Carlotti
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto, 8, 06123, Perugia, Italy
| | - Fausto Ortica
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto, 8, 06123, Perugia, Italy
| | - Loredana Latterini
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto, 8, 06123, Perugia, Italy
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
- Chemistry Department, Bowling Green State University, Overman Hall, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA
| | - Andrea Cappelli
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2018-2022), Università degli Studi di Siena, Via A. Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
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45
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Mukherjee S, Thomas C, Wilson R, Simmerman E, Hung ST, Jimenez R. Characterizing Dark State Kinetics and Single Molecule Fluorescence of FusionRed and FusionRed-MQ at Low Irradiances. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:14310-14323. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00889k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The presence of dark states causes fluorescence intermittency of single molecules due to transitions between “on” and “off” states. Genetically encodable markers such as fluorescent proteins (FPs) exhibit dark states...
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Tang L, Fang C. Fluorescence Modulation by Ultrafast Chromophore Twisting Events: Developing a Powerful Toolset for Fluorescent-Protein-Based Imaging. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:13610-13623. [PMID: 34883016 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c08570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The advancement of modern life sciences has benefited tremendously from the discovery and development of fluorescent proteins (FPs), widely expressed in live cells to track a myriad of cellular events. The chromophores of various FPs can undergo many ultrafast photophysical and/or photochemical processes in the electronic excited state and emit fluorescence with different colors. However, the chromophore becomes essentially nonfluorescent in solution environment due to its intrinsic twisting capability upon photoexcitation. To study "microscopic" torsional events and their effects on "macroscopic" fluorescence, we have developed an integrated ultrafast characterization platform involving femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) and wavelength-tunable femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS). A wide range of naturally occurring, circularly permuted, non-canonical amino-acid-decorated FPs and FP-based optical highlighters with photochromicity, photoconversion, and/or photoswitching capabilities have been recently investigated in great detail. Twisting conformational motions were elucidated to exist in all of these systems but to various extents. The associated different ultrafast pathways can be monitored via frequency changes of characteristic Raman bands during primary events and functional processes. The mapped electronic and structural dynamics information is crucial and has shown great potential and initial success for the rational design of proteins and other photoreceptors with novel functions and fluorescence properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longteng Tang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-4003, United States
| | - Chong Fang
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-4003, United States
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Photosynthetic reaction center variants made via genetic code expansion show Tyr at M210 tunes the initial electron transfer mechanism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2116439118. [PMID: 34907018 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116439118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides were engineered to vary the electronic properties of a key tyrosine (M210) close to an essential electron transfer component via its replacement with site-specific, genetically encoded noncanonical amino acid tyrosine analogs. High fidelity of noncanonical amino acid incorporation was verified with mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography and demonstrated that RC variants exhibit no significant structural alterations relative to wild type (WT). Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy indicates the excited primary electron donor, P*, decays via a ∼4-ps and a ∼20-ps population to produce the charge-separated state P+HA - in all variants. Global analysis indicates that in the ∼4-ps population, P+HA - forms through a two-step process, P*→ P+BA -→ P+HA -, while in the ∼20-ps population, it forms via a one-step P* → P+HA - superexchange mechanism. The percentage of the P* population that decays via the superexchange route varies from ∼25 to ∼45% among variants, while in WT, this percentage is ∼15%. Increases in the P* population that decays via superexchange correlate with increases in the free energy of the P+BA - intermediate caused by a given M210 tyrosine analog. This was experimentally estimated through resonance Stark spectroscopy, redox titrations, and near-infrared absorption measurements. As the most energetically perturbative variant, 3-nitrotyrosine at M210 creates an ∼110-meV increase in the free energy of P+BA - along with a dramatic diminution of the 1,030-nm transient absorption band indicative of P+BA - formation. Collectively, this work indicates the tyrosine at M210 tunes the mechanism of primary electron transfer in the RC.
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Zhou J, Yang T, Peng B, Shan B, Ding M, Zhang K. Structural Water Molecules Confined in Soft and Hard Nanocavities as Bright Color Emitters. ACS PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY AU 2021; 2:47-58. [PMID: 36855578 PMCID: PMC9718307 DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.1c00020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Molecules confined in the nanocavity and nanointerface exhibit rich, unique physicochemical properties, e.g., the chromophore in the β-barrel can of green fluorescent protein (GFP) exhibits tunable bright colors. However, the physical origin of their photoluminescence (PL) emission remains elusive. To mimic the microenvironment of the GFP protein scaffold at the molecule level, two groups of nanocavities were created by molecule self-assembly using organic chromophores and by organic functionalization of mesoporous silica, respectively. We provide strong evidence that structural water molecules confined in these nanocavities are color emitters with a universal formula of {X+·(OH-·H2O)·(H2O) n-1}, in which X is hydrated protons (H3O+) or protonated amino (NH3 +) groups as an anchoring point, and that the efficiency of PL is strongly dependent on the stability of the main emitter centers of the structural hydrated hydroxide complex (OH-·H2O), which is a key intermediate to mediate electron transfer dominated by proton transfer at confined nanospace. Further controlled experiments and combined characterizations by time-resolved steady-state and ultrafast transient optical spectroscopy unveil an unusual multichannel radiative and/or nonradiative mechanism dominated by quantum transient states with a distinctive character of topological excitation. The finding of this work underscores the pivotal role of structurally bound H2O in regulating the PL efficiency of aggregation-induced emission luminogens and GFP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiafeng Zhou
- Shanghai
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, College
of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Taiqun Yang
- Shanghai
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, College
of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Bo Peng
- Shanghai
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, College
of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Bingqian Shan
- Shanghai
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, College
of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Meng Ding
- Shanghai
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, College
of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Kun Zhang
- Shanghai
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, College
of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China,Laboratoire
de chimie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Institut de Chimie
de Lyon, Université de Lyon, 46 Allée d’italie, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France,Shandong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Energy Storage and Novel Cell
Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, Shandong, P. R. China,
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Devos O, Ghaffari M, Vitale R, de Juan A, Sliwa M, Ruckebusch C. Multivariate Curve Resolution Slicing of Multiexponential Time-Resolved Spectroscopy Fluorescence Data. Anal Chem 2021; 93:12504-12513. [PMID: 34494422 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c01284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (TRFS), i.e., measurement of fluorescence decay curves for different excitation and/or emission wavelengths, provides specific and sensitive local information on molecules and on their environment. However, TRFS relies on multiexponential data fitting to derive fluorescence lifetimes from the measured decay curves and the time resolution of the technique is limited by the instrumental response function (IRF). We propose here a multivariate curve resolution (MCR) approach based on data slicing to perform tailored and fit-free analysis of multiexponential fluorescence decay curves. MCR slicing, taking as a basic framework the multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-squares (MCR-ALS) soft-modeling algorithm, relies on a hybrid bilinear/trilinear data decomposition. A key feature of the method is that it enables the recovery of individual components characterized by decay profiles that are only partially describable by monoexponential functions. For TRFS data, not only pure multiexponential tail information but also shorter time delay information can be decomposed, where the signal deviates from the ideal exponential behavior due to the limited time resolution. The accuracy of the proposed approach is validated by analyzing mixtures of three commercial dyes and characterizing the mixture composition, lifetimes, and associated contributions, even in situations where only ternary mixture samples are available. MCR slicing is also applied to the analysis of TRFS data obtained on a photoswitchable fluorescent protein (rsEGFP2). Three fluorescence lifetimes are extracted, along with the profile of the IRF, highlighting that decomposition of complex systems, for which individual isomers are characterized by different exponential decays, can also be achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Devos
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8516 - LASIRE - Laboratory of advanced spectroscopy, interactions, reactivity and environment, Cité scientifique, Bâtiment C5, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Mahdiyeh Ghaffari
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8516 - LASIRE - Laboratory of advanced spectroscopy, interactions, reactivity and environment, Cité scientifique, Bâtiment C5, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Raffaele Vitale
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8516 - LASIRE - Laboratory of advanced spectroscopy, interactions, reactivity and environment, Cité scientifique, Bâtiment C5, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Anna de Juan
- Chemometrics Group, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí I Franquès, 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Michel Sliwa
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8516 - LASIRE - Laboratory of advanced spectroscopy, interactions, reactivity and environment, Cité scientifique, Bâtiment C5, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Cyril Ruckebusch
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8516 - LASIRE - Laboratory of advanced spectroscopy, interactions, reactivity and environment, Cité scientifique, Bâtiment C5, 59000 Lille, France
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Jones CM, List NH, Martínez TJ. Resolving the ultrafast dynamics of the anionic green fluorescent protein chromophore in water. Chem Sci 2021; 12:11347-11363. [PMID: 34667545 PMCID: PMC8447926 DOI: 10.1039/d1sc02508b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The chromophore of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) is critical for probing environmental influences on fluorescent protein behavior. Using the aqueous system as a bridge between the unconfined vacuum system and a constricting protein scaffold, we investigate the steric and electronic effects of the environment on the photodynamical behavior of the chromophore. Specifically, we apply ab initio multiple spawning to simulate five picoseconds of nonadiabatic dynamics after photoexcitation, resolving the excited-state pathways responsible for internal conversion in the aqueous chromophore. We identify an ultrafast pathway that proceeds through a short-lived (sub-picosecond) imidazolinone-twisted (I-twisted) species and a slower (several picoseconds) channel that proceeds through a long-lived phenolate-twisted (P-twisted) intermediate. The molecule navigates the non-equilibrium energy landscape via an aborted hula-twist-like motion toward the one-bond-flip dominated conical intersection seams, as opposed to following the pure one-bond-flip paths proposed by the excited-state equilibrium picture. We interpret our simulations in the context of time-resolved fluorescence experiments, which use short- and long-time components to describe the fluorescence decay of the aqueous GFP chromophore. Our results suggest that the longer time component is caused by an energetically uphill approach to the P-twisted intersection seam rather than an excited-state barrier to reach the twisted intramolecular charge-transfer species. Irrespective of the location of the nonadiabatic population events, the twisted intersection seams are inefficient at facilitating isomerization in aqueous solution. The disordered and homogeneous nature of the aqueous solvent environment facilitates non-selective stabilization with respect to I- and P-twisted species, offering an important foundation for understanding the consequences of selective stabilization in heterogeneous and rigid protein environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chey M Jones
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University Stanford CA 94305 USA
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 2575 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park CA 94025 USA
| | - Nanna H List
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University Stanford CA 94305 USA
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 2575 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park CA 94025 USA
| | - Todd J Martínez
- Department of Chemistry and the PULSE Institute, Stanford University Stanford CA 94305 USA
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 2575 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park CA 94025 USA
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