Structural analyses of a channel-forming fragment of colicin E1 incorporated into lipid vesicles. Fourier-transform infrared and tryptophan fluorescence studies

Structural changes upon binding to the membrane of a COOH-terminal channel-forming thermolytic fragment of colicin E1 have been studied by means of a variety of spectroscopic techniques. Circular dichroism measurements show that the thermolytic fragment predominantly takes a helical structure in aqueous and detergent solutions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic measurements indicate that the content of the beta-structure is significantly increased when the thermolytic fragment is bound to vesicles. On the basis of the result of tryptophan fluorescence measurements, we have concluded that each of the three tryptophan residues of the thermolytic fragment exists in different environments, i.e. one is buried in the lipid bilayer, one exists on the cis side of the vesicles, and one exists near the surface of the lipid bilayer. The Fourier transform infrared and fluorescence data have been used along with the crystal structure of colicin A, which is highly homologous to colicin E1 in structure and function, to propose a model of the thermolytic fragment bound to the lipid vesicles.

Vibrational spectroscopy of excited electronic states in carotenoids in vivo. Picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman scattering

The vibrational spectroscopy and population dynamics of excited singlet (2(1)Ag), excited triplet (3B u), and the ground (1Ag) electronic states of carotenoids in chromatophores of Chromatium vinosum (mainly spirilloxanthin and rhodopin) and of the same carotenoids in benzene solutions are examined by picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman scattering. Coherent Stokes Raman scattering from the ground states of carotenoids in chromatophores also is observed. Resonance Raman spectra of in vitro rhodopin and spirilloxanthin when compared with in vivo data demonstrate that scattering from spirilloxanthin dominates the in vivo spectrum. Comparisons of the time-dependent intensities of 2(1)Ag and 1Ag resonance Raman bands from both in vitro and in vivo carotenoids suggest that vibrationally excited levels in 1Ag are populated directly by the decay of the 2(1)Ag state and that these levels relax into a thermalized distribution in less than 50 ps. The appearance of asymmetrically broadened, ground-state resonance Raman bands supports this conclusion. Formation of the 3Bu state is observed for carotenoids in chromatophores, but not for in vitro spirilloxanthin indicating that the 3Bu state is formed by fission processes originating from the spatial organization of pigments within chromatophores. The rate at which the intensities of 2(1)Ag resonance Raman bands decay is faster for the carotenoids in vivo than for those in vitro thereby indicating that additional relaxation channels (e.g., energy transfer to bacteriochlorophylls) are present in the chromatophore. The similarity of the in vivo and in vitro 2(1)Ag resonance Raman spectra shows that no significant modifications in the vibronic coupling has been caused by the chromatophore environment.

Resonance Raman studies on the structure of bacteriochlorophyll c in chlorosomes from Chloroflexus aurantiacus

Resonance Raman spectra of chlorosomes isolated from the thermophilic green photosynthetic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus have been obtained with several excitation wavelengths from 441.6 to 514.5 nm. Resonance Raman spectra of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) c isolated from C. aurantiacus cells have also been observed. The C=C stretching frequencies of BChl c in the chlorosomes were found to be at 1,556 (strong) and 1,544 (shoulder) cm-1, which correspond to those expected for the 5-coordinated BChl c. The C-9 carbonyl resonance Raman frequency was found at 1,642 cm-1, indicating that this group is either hydrogen-bonded to an Mg-coordinated hydroxyl group or coordinated to the Mg ion.