Comparison of the structural changes occurring during the primary phototransition of two different channelrhodopsins from Chlamydomonas algae.

ABSTRACT: Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) from green flagellate algae function as light-gated ion channels when expressed heterologously in mammalian cells. Considerable interest has focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of ChRs to bioengineer their properties for specific optogenetic applications such as elucidating the function of specific neurons in brain circuits. While most studies have used channelrhodopsin-2 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CrChR2), in this work low-temperature Fourier transform infrared-difference spectroscopy is applied to study the conformational changes occurring during the primary phototransition of the red-shifted ChR1 from Chlamydomonas augustae (CaChR1). Substitution with isotope-labeled retinals or the retinal analogue A2, site-directed mutagenesis, hydrogen-deut

SUBMITTER: Ogren JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4303311 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature