Proteins in action: femtosecond to millisecond structural dynamics of a photoactive flavoprotein.

ABSTRACT: Living systems are fundamentally dependent on the ability of proteins to respond to external stimuli. The mechanism, the underlying structural dynamics, and the time scales for regulation of this response are central questions in biochemistry. Here we probe the structural dynamics of the BLUF domain found in several photoactive flavoproteins, which is responsible for light activated functions as diverse as phototaxis and gene regulation. Measurements have been made over 10 decades of time (from 100 fs to 1 ms) using transient vibrational spectroscopy. Chromophore (flavin ring) localized dynamics occur on the pico- to nanosecond time scale, while subsequent protein structural reorganization is observed over microseconds. Multiple time scales are observed for the dynamics associated with dif

SUBMITTER: Brust R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3837517 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature