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Ultrafast structural changes direct the first molecular events of vision

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
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  1. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Biomolecular Research; SLAC
  2. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Biomolecular Research
  3. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Femtochemistry
  4. University of Gothenburg (Sweden)
  5. Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan); RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo (Japan)
  6. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Theoretical and Computational Physics; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne (Switzerland)
  7. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Nonlinear Optics
  8. Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland)
  9. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Macromolecules and Bioimaging
  10. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
  11. RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo (Japan); Kyoto University (Japan)
  12. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo (Japan)
  13. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Femtochemistry; Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne (EPFL) (Switzerland)
  14. RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo (Japan); Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo (Japan)
  15. Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Krakow (Poland); Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
  16. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States). Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)
  17. Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Biomolecular Research; Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Laboratory for Theoretical and Computational Physics; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne (Switzerland)
Vision is initiated by the rhodopsin family of light-sensitive G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). A photon is absorbed by the 11-cis retinal chromophore of rhodopsin, which isomerizes within 200 femtoseconds to the all-transconformation, thereby initiating the cellular signal transduction processes that ultimately lead to vision. However, the intramolecular mechanism by which the photoactivated retinal induces the activation events inside rhodopsin remains experimentally unclear. Here we use ultrafast time-resolved crystallography at room temperature to determine how an isomerized twisted all-trans retinal stores the photon energy that is required to initiate the protein conformational changes associated with the formation of the G protein-binding signalling state. The distorted retinal at a 1-ps time delay after photoactivation has pulled away from half of its numerous interactions with its binding pocket, and the excess of the photon energy is released through an anisotropic protein breathing motion in the direction of the extracellular space. Notably, the very early structural motions in the protein side chains of rhodopsin appear in regions that are involved in later stages of the conserved class A GPCR activation mechanism. Our study sheds light on the earliest stages of vision in vertebrates and points to fundamental aspects of the molecular mechanisms of agonist-mediated GPCR activation.
Research Organization:
Leland Stanford Junior University, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
ETH Zürich; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS); Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Science Centre (Poland); Swedish Research Council; Swiss National Science Foundation; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1971214
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2478280
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Journal Name: Nature (London) Journal Issue: 7954 Vol. 615; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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