Deborah Stoner-Ma

An Alternate Proton Acceptor for Excited State Proton Transfer in Green Fluorescent Protein: Rewiring GFP

The neutral form of the chromophore in wild-type green fluorescent protein (wtGFP) undergoes excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) upon excitation, resulting in characteristic green (508 nm) fluorescence. This ESPT reaction involves a proton relay from the phenol hydroxyl of the chromophore to the ionized side chain of E222, and results in formation of the anionic chromophore in a protein environment optimized for the neutral species (the I* state). Reorientation or replacement of E222, as occurs in the S65T and E222Q GFP mutants, disables the ESPT reaction and results in loss of green emission following excitation of the neutral chromophore. Previously, it has been shown that the introduction of a second mutation (H148D) into S65T GFP allows the recovery of green emission, implying that ESPT is again possible. A similar recovery of green fluorescence is also observed for the E222Q/H148D mutant, suggesting that D148 is the proton acceptor for the ESPT reaction in both double mutants. The mechanism of fluorescence emission following excitation of the neutral chromophore in S65T/H148D and E222Q/H148D has been explored through the use of steady state and ultrafast time-resolved fluorescence and vibrational spectroscopy. The data are contrasted with those of the single mutant S65T GFP. Time-resolved fluorescence studies indicate very rapid (< 1 ps) formation of I* in the double mutants, followed by vibrational cooling on the picosecond time scale. The time-resolved IR difference spectra are markedly different to those of wtGFP or its anionic mutants. In particular, no spectral signatures are apparent in the picosecond IR difference spectra that would correspond to alteration in the ionization state of D148, leading to the proposal that a low-barrier hydrogen bond (LBHB) is present between the phenol hydroxyl of the chromophore and the side chain of D148, with different potential energy surfaces for the ground and excited states. This model is consistent with recent high-resolution structural data in which the distance between the donor and acceptor oxygen atoms is < or = 2.4 A. Importantly, these studies indicate that the hydrogen-bond network in wtGFP can be replaced by a single residue, an observation which, when fully explored, will add to our understanding of the various requirements for proton-transfer reactions within proteins.

Ultrafast dynamics of protein proton transfer on short hydrogen bond potential energy surfaces: S65T/H148D GFP.

Ultrafast proton transfer dynamics on a short H-bond in a protein were studied through the time-resolved fluorescence of the S65T/H148D green fluorescent protein (GFP) mutant. In response to the change in chromophore pK(a) upon excitation, the donor-proton-acceptor structure evolves on a sub-100 fs time scale, followed by picosecond time scale vibrational cooling and host structure reorganization.

Quaternary Ammonium Oxidative Demethylation: X-ray Crystallographic, Resonance Raman, and UV-Visible Spectroscopic Analysis of a Rieske-Type Demethylase.

Herein, the structure resulting from in situ turnover in a chemically challenging quaternary ammonium oxidative demethylation reaction was captured via crystallographic analysis and analyzed via single-crystal spectroscopy. Crystal structures were determined for the Rieske-type monooxygenase, stachydrine demethylase, in the unliganded state (at 1.6 Å resolution) and in the product complex (at 2.2 Å resolution). The ligand complex was obtained from enzyme aerobically cocrystallized with the substrate stachydrine (N,N-dimethylproline). The ligand electron density in the complex was interpreted as proline, generated within the active site at 100 K by the absorption of X-ray photon energy and two consecutive demethylation cycles. The oxidation state of the Rieske iron-sulfur cluster was characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy throughout X-ray data collection in conjunction with resonance Raman spectra collected before and after diffraction data. Shifts in the absorption band wavelength and intensity as a function of absorbed X-ray dose demonstrated that the Rieske center was reduced by solvated electrons generated by X-ray photons; the kinetics of the reduction process differed dramatically for the liganded complex compared to unliganded demethylase, which may correspond to the observed turnover in the crystal.

Correlated single-crystal electronic absorption spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography at NSLS beamline X26-C

The instrumentation and methods available for collecting almost simultaneous single-crystal electronic absorption correlated with X-ray diffraction data at NSLS beamline X26-C are reviewed, as well as a very brief outline of its Raman spectroscopy capability.

Time-Resolved Emission Spectra of Green Fluorescent Protein

Abstract The time-resolved emission spectra of wild-type green fluorescent protein (wtGFP) and the T203V GFP mutant have been recorded with picosecond time resolution, allowing the separate characterization of the two spectral components associated with the neutral and anionic forms of the GFP chromophore. Significantly, neither component shifts as a function of time. It is suggested that the absence of spectral shift is a result of highly restricted movement of the protein residues in the vicinity of the chromophore. The shapes of the separated spectra are discussed and their relative ratio analyzed in a steady-state analysis.

Single-crystal Raman spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography at beamline X26-C of the NSLS.

The collection of absorption and Raman spectroscopic data correlated with X-ray diffraction data allows investigators to understand the atomic structure as well as the electronic and vibrational characteristics of their samples, to identify transiently formed intermediates and to explore mechanistic questions. Raman spectroscopy instrumentation at beamline X26-C at the NSLS is currently available to the general user population.

Ultrafast Photoreactions in the Green Fluorescent Protein Studied Through Time Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy

A time and polarisation resolved study of excited state reactions in the green Fluorescent Protein and its mutants is described. The rate and mechanism of the proton relay reaction are determined.