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Article
Open AccessPhotoisomerization pathway of the microbial rhodopsin chromophore in solution
Photoisomerization is a key photochemical reaction in microbial and animal rhodopsins. It is well established that such photoisomerization is highly selective; all-trans to 13-cis, and 11-cis to all-trans forms i...
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Article
Open AccessStructural basis for the allosteric modulation of rhodopsin by nanobody binding to its extracellular domain
Rhodopsin is a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) critical for vertebrate vision. Research on GPCR signaling states has been facilitated using llama-derived nanobodies (Nbs), some of which bind to ...
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Article
Open AccessA light-gated cation channel with high reactivity to weak light
The cryptophyte algae, Guillardia theta, possesses 46 genes that are homologous to microbial rhodopsins. Five of them are functionally light-gated cation channelrhodopsins (GtCCR1-5) that are phylogenetically dis...
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Article
Phototrophy by antenna-containing rhodopsin pumps in aquatic environments
Energy transfer from light-harvesting ketocarotenoids to the light-driven proton pump xanthorhodopsins has been previously demonstrated in two unique cases: an extreme halophilic bacterium1 and a terrestrial cyan...
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Protocol
Purification of the Na+-Driven PomAB Stator Complex and Its Analysis Using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy
The flagellar motor of marine Vibrio is driven by the sodium-motive force across the inner membrane. The stator complex, consisting of two membrane proteins PomA and PomB, is responsible for energy conversion in ...
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Article
Rhodopsin-bestrophin fusion proteins from unicellular algae form gigantic pentameric ion channels
Many organisms sense light using rhodopsins, photoreceptive proteins containing a retinal chromophore. Here we report the discovery, structure and biophysical characterization of bestrhodopsins, a microbial rh...
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Article
Open AccessAuthor Correction: Remote control of neural function by X-ray-induced scintillation
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Protocol
FTIR and Raman Spectroscopy of Rhodopsins
Vibrational spectroscopy such as FTIR and Raman spectroscopy is a powerful, sensitive, and informative method for studying protein structural changes in during their functions. The usefulness has been histor...
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Article
Open AccessVibrational spectroscopy analysis of ligand efficacy in human M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M2R)
The intrinsic efficacy of ligand binding to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) reflects the ability of the ligand to differentially activate its receptor to cause a physiological effect. Here we use attenuate...
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Article
Open AccessPro219 is an electrostatic color determinant in the light-driven sodium pump KR2
Color tuning in animal and microbial rhodopsins has attracted the interest of many researchers, as the color of their common retinal chromophores is modulated by the amino acid residues forming the chromophore...
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Article
Open AccessOrientations and water dynamics of photoinduced secondary charge-separated states for magnetoreception by cryptochrome
In the biological magnetic compass, blue-light photoreceptor protein of cryptochrome is thought to conduct the sensing of the Earth’s magnetic field by photoinduced sequential long-range charge-separation (CS)...
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Article
Open AccessRemote control of neural function by X-ray-induced scintillation
Scintillators emit visible luminescence when irradiated with X-rays. Given the unlimited tissue penetration of X-rays, the employment of scintillators could enable remote optogenetic control of neural function...
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Article
Open AccessAuthor Correction: Exploration of natural red-shifted rhodopsins using a machine learning-based Bayesian experimental design
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Article
Open AccessExploration of natural red-shifted rhodopsins using a machine learning-based Bayesian experimental design
Microbial rhodopsins are photoreceptive membrane proteins, which are used as molecular tools in optogenetics. Here, a machine learning (ML)-based experimental design method is introduced for screening rhodopsi...
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Article
Open AccessSpecific residues in the cytoplasmic domain modulate photocurrent kinetics of channelrhodopsin from Klebsormidium nitens
Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are light-gated ion channels extensively applied as optogenetics tools for manipulating neuronal activity. All currently known ChRs comprise a large cytoplasmic domain, whose function ...
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Chapter
History and Perspectives of Ion-Transporting Rhodopsins
The first light-sensing proteins used in optogenetics were rhodopsins. The word “rhodopsin” originates from the Greek words “rhodo” and “opsis,” indicating rose and sight, respectively. Although the classical ...
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Chapter
Molecular Properties and Optogenetic Applications of Enzymerhodopsins
The cyclic nucleotides cAMP and cGMP are ubiquitous secondary messengers that regulate multiple biological functions including gene expression, differentiation, proliferation, and cell survival. In sensory neu...
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Article
Open AccessStructural insights into the mechanism of rhodopsin phosphodiesterase
Rhodopsin phosphodiesterase (Rh-PDE) is an enzyme rhodopsin belonging to a recently discovered class of microbial rhodopsins with light-dependent enzymatic activity. Rh-PDE consists of the N-terminal rhodopsin...
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Article
ATP binding promotes light-induced structural changes to the protein moiety of Arabidopsis cryptochrome 1
Cryptochromes (CRYs) are blue-light receptors involved in photomorphogenesis in plants. Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is one of the chromophores of cryptochromes; its resting state oxidized form is convert...
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Article
Novel optogenetics tool: Gt_CCR4, a light-gated cation channel with high reactivity to weak light
Optogenetics is a growing technique which allows manipulation of biological events simply by illumination. The technique is appreciated especially in the neuroscience field because of its availability in contr...
