Vibrational spectroscopy of bacteriorhodopsin mutants: I. Tyrosine‐185 protonates and deprotonantes during the photocycle

Abstract

The techniques of FTIR difference spectroscopy and site-directed mutagenesis have been combined to investigate the role of individual tyrosine side chains in the proton-pumping mechanism of bacteriorhodopsin (bR). For each of the 11 possible bR mutants containing a single Tyr→Phe substitution, difference spectra have been obtained for the bR→K and bR→M photoreactions. Only the Tyr-185→Phe mutation results in the disappearance of a set of bands that were previously shown to be due to protonation of a tryosinate during the br→K photoreaction [Rothschild et al.: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United states of America 83:347, (1986)]. The Tyr-185→Phe mutation also eliminates a set of bands in the bR→M difference spectrum associated with deprotonation of a Tyr; most of these bands (e.g., positive 1272-cm⁻¹ peak) are completely unaffected by the other ten Tyr→Phe mutations. Thus, tyrosinate-185 gains a proton during the bR→K reaction and loses it again when M is formed. Our FTIR spectra also provide evidence that Tyr-185 interacts with the protonated Schiff base linkage of the retinal chromophore, since the negative CNH⁺ stretch band shifts from 1640 cm⁻¹ in the wild type to 1636 cm⁻¹ in the Tyr-185→Phe mutant. A model that is consistent with these results is that Tyr-185 is normally ionized and serves as a counter-ion to the protonated Schiff base. The primary photoisomerization of the chromophore translocates the Schiff base away from Tyr-185, which raises the pK_a of the latter group and results in its protonation.