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Related Experiment Videos

A molecular spring for vision.

Ute F Röhrig1, Leonardo Guidoni, Alessandro Laio

  • 1Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|November 26, 2004
PubMed
Summary

The initial step in vision involves the ultrafast photoreaction of the retinal protonated Schiff base (RPSB) in rhodopsin. This reaction forms a strained RPSB within 100 fs, akin to compressing a molecular spring.

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Vision Science

Background:

  • Vision relies on the visual pigment rhodopsin and its chromophore, the retinal protonated Schiff base (RPSB).
  • The initial photoreaction of RPSB is crucial for initiating the visual signal transduction pathway.
  • Understanding this ultrafast reaction is key to comprehending the mechanism of vision.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the real-time dynamics of the RPSB photoreaction in rhodopsin.
  • To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the initial step of vision.
  • To explore the role of protein environment and nuclear rearrangements.

Main Methods:

  • Unrestrained molecular dynamics simulations of rhodopsin in a membrane mimetic environment.
  • Quantum chemical calculations using density functional theory (DFT) for the chromophore.

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  • Real-time analysis of nuclear rearrangements and chromophore configuration.

    • Main Results:

    • A highly strained all-trans RPSB is formed from the 11-cis configuration within approximately 100 femtoseconds (fs).
    • This transformation involves minor nuclear rearrangements with minimal deformation of the rhodopsin binding pocket.
    • The saltbridge interaction with Glu113 is preserved during the initial photoreaction.

    Conclusions:

    • The initial step of vision can be conceptualized as the compression of a molecular spring.
    • This stored strain energy in the RPSB is released by subsequent alterations in the protein environment.
    • The findings provide a detailed molecular understanding of the initiation of the visual process.