scholarly journals Hydroxide Ion Carrier for Proton Pump in Bacteriorhodopsin: Primary Proton Transfer

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Imai ◽  
J. Ono ◽  
Y. Nishimura ◽  
H. Nakai

ABSTRACTBacteriorhodopsin (BR) is a model protein for light-driven proton pumps, where the vectorial active proton transport results in light-energy conversion. To clarify the microscopic mechanism of primary proton transfer from retinal Schiff base (SB) to Asp85 in BR, herein we performed quantum-mechanical metadynamics simulations of the whole BR system (∼3800 atoms). The simulations showed a novel proton transfer mechanism, viz. hydroxide ion mechanism, in which the deprotonation of specific internal water (Wat452) yields the protonation of Asp85 via Thr89, after which the resulting hydroxide ion accepts the remaining proton from retinal SB. Furthermore, systematic investigations adopting four sequential snapshots obtained by the time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography revealed that proton transfer took 2–5.25 μs on the photocycle. The presence of Wat401, which is the main difference between snapshots at 2 and 5.25 μs, is found to be essential in assisting the primary proton transfer.SIGNIFICANCEBacteriorhodopsin (BR), the benchmark of light-driven proton pumps, has attracted much attention from diverse areas in terms of energy conversion. Despite the significant experimental and theoretical efforts, the microscopic mechanism of the proton transfers in BR is not completely unveiled. In this study, quantum-mechanical molecular dynamics simulations of whole BR system were performed to elucidate the primary proton transfer in the L intermediate state with the latest snapshots obtained from X-ray free electron laser. As a result, it is found that the hydroxide ion originating from the specific internal water, which appears at the active site only in the L state, acts as a carrier for the primary proton transfer, demonstrating the importance of hydroxide ions in proton pumps.

2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (39) ◽  
pp. 8524-8539
Author(s):  
Junichi Ono ◽  
Minori Imai ◽  
Yoshifumi Nishimura ◽  
Hiromi Nakai

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Hirschi ◽  
David Kalbermatter ◽  
Zöhre Ucurum ◽  
Thomas Lemmin ◽  
Dimitrios Fotiadis

AbstractThe green-light absorbing proteorhodopsin (GPR) is the archetype of bacterial light-driven proton pumps. Here, we present the 2.9 Å cryo-EM structure of pentameric GPR, resolving important residues of the proton translocation pathway and the oligomerization interface. Superposition with the structure of a close GPR homolog and molecular dynamics simulations reveal conformational variations, which regulate the solvent access to the intra- and extracellular half channels harbouring the primary proton donor E109 and the proposed proton release group E143. We provide a mechanism for the structural rearrangements allowing hydration of the intracellular half channel, which are triggered by changing the protonation state of E109. Functional characterization of selected mutants demonstrates the importance of the molecular organization around E109 and E143 for GPR activity. Furthermore, we present evidence that helices involved in the stabilization of the protomer interfaces serve as scaffolds for facilitating the motion of the other helices. Combined with the more constrained dynamics of the pentamer compared to the monomer, these observations illustrate the previously demonstrated functional significance of GPR oligomerization. Overall, this work provides molecular insights into the structure, dynamics and function of the proteorhodopsin family that will benefit the large scientific community employing GPR as a model protein.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Karagianni ◽  
Lydia Gkoura ◽  
Nikolaos Tsolakis ◽  
Georgios Romanos ◽  
Savvas Orfanidis ◽  
...  

Abstract Molecular motion in nanosized channels can be highly complicated. For example, water molecules in hydrophobic nanopores move rapidly and coherently in a chain, following the so-called single file motion. Surprisingly, fast molecular motion is also observed in viscous charged fluids, such as room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) confined in a nanoporous carbon or silica matrix. The microscopic mechanism of this intriguing effect is still unclear. Here, by combining NMR diffusion experiments in different relaxation windows with ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the imidazolium-based RTIL [BMIM]+[TCM]-, entrapped in the MCM-41 silica nanopores, exhibits a complex dynamic molecular ordering (DMO); adsorbed RTIL molecules near the pore walls orient almost vertically to the walls, while at the center of the pores anion-cation pairs diffuse collectively in a single file (SFD). Enlightening this extraordinary effect is of primary importance in designing RTIL-based composite materials with tuned electrochemical properties.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (25) ◽  
pp. 16857-16866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Hori ◽  
Tomonori Ida ◽  
Motohiro Mizuno

We propose a simple method for potential construction in the diabatic picture and the estimation of thermal rate constants for intermolecular proton transfer reactions using quantum dynamics simulations carried out on the constructed potentials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1247-1257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Dyla ◽  
Sara Basse Hansen ◽  
Poul Nissen ◽  
Magnus Kjaergaard

Abstract P-type ATPases transport ions across biological membranes against concentration gradients and are essential for all cells. They use the energy from ATP hydrolysis to propel large intramolecular movements, which drive vectorial transport of ions. Tight coordination of the motions of the pump is required to couple the two spatially distant processes of ion binding and ATP hydrolysis. Here, we review our current understanding of the structural dynamics of P-type ATPases, focusing primarily on Ca2+ pumps. We integrate different types of information that report on structural dynamics, primarily time-resolved fluorescence experiments including single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer and molecular dynamics simulations, and interpret them in the framework provided by the numerous crystal structures of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase. We discuss the challenges in characterizing the dynamics of membrane pumps, and the likely impact of new technologies on the field.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Nash ◽  
Nora H de Leeuw ◽  
Helen L Birch

<div> <div> <div> <p>The computational study of advanced glycation end-product cross- links remains largely unexplored given the limited availability of bonded force constants and equilibrium values for molecular dynamics force fields. In this article, we present the bonded force constants, atomic partial charges and equilibrium values of the arginine-lysine cross-links DOGDIC, GODIC and MODIC. The Hessian was derived from a series of <i>ab initio</i> quantum mechanical electronic structure calculations and from which a complete set of force constant and equilibrium values were generated using our publicly available software, ForceGen. Short <i>in vacuo</i> molecular dynamics simulations were performed to validate their implementation against quantum mechanical frequency calculations. </p> </div> </div> </div>


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoliang Liu ◽  
Jing Shi ◽  
Guang Yang ◽  
Jian Zhou ◽  
Chuanming Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractZeolite morphology is crucial in determining their catalytic activity, selectivity and stability, but quantitative descriptors of such a morphology effect are challenging to define. Here we introduce a descriptor that accounts for the morphology effect in the catalytic performances of H-ZSM-5 zeolite for C4 olefin catalytic cracking. A series of H-ZSM-5 zeolites with similar sheet-like morphology but different c-axis lengths were synthesized. We found that the catalytic activity and stability is improved in samples with longer c-axis. Combining time-resolved in-situ FT-IR spectroscopy with molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the difference in catalytic performance can be attributed to the anisotropy of the intracrystalline diffusive propensity of the olefins in different channels. Our descriptor offers mechanistic insight for the design of highly effective zeolite catalysts for olefin cracking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Eder ◽  
P. G. Grützmacher ◽  
M. Rodríguez Ripoll ◽  
J. F. Belak

Abstract Depending on the mechanical and thermal energy introduced to a dry sliding interface, the near-surface regions of the mated bodies may undergo plastic deformation. In this work, we use large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to generate “differential computational orientation tomographs” (dCOT) and thus highlight changes to the microstructure near tribological FCC alloy surfaces, allowing us to detect subtle differences in lattice orientation and small distances in grain boundary migration. The analysis approach compares computationally generated orientation tomographs with their undeformed counterparts via a simple image analysis filter. We use our visualization method to discuss the acting microstructural mechanisms in a load- and time-resolved fashion, focusing on sliding conditions that lead to twinning, partial lattice rotation, and grain boundary-dominated processes. Extracting and laterally averaging the color saturation value of the generated tomographs allows us to produce quantitative time- and depth-resolved maps that give a good overview of the progress and severity of near-surface deformation. Corresponding maps of the lateral standard deviation in the color saturation show evidence of homogenization processes occurring in the tribologically loaded microstructure, frequently leading to the formation of a well-defined separation between deformed and undeformed regions. When integrated into a computational materials engineering framework, our approach could help optimize material design for tribological and other deformation problems. Graphic Abstract .


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