An Atomistic Model of a Precursor State of Light-Induced Channel Opening of Channelrhodopsin.

ABSTRACT: Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are microbial light-gated ion channels with a retinal chromophore and are widely utilized in optogenetics to precisely control neuronal activity with light. Despite increasing understanding of their structures and photoactivation kinetics, the atomistic mechanism of light gating and ion conduction remains elusive. Here, we present an atomic structural model of a chimeric ChR in a precursor state of the channel opening determined by an accurate hybrid molecular simulation technique and a statistical theory of internal water distribution. The photoactivated structure features extensive tilt of the chromophore accompanied by redistribution of water molecules in its binding pocket, which is absent in previously known photoactivated structures of analogous photoreceptor

SUBMITTER: Cheng C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6170652 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature