Azide accelerates the decay of M-intermediate of pharaonis phoborhodopsin

Natronobacterium pharaonis has retinal proteins, one of which is pharaonis phoborhodopsin, abbreviated as ppR (or called pharaonis sensory rhodopsin II, psR-II). This pigment protein functions as a photoreceptor of the negative phototaxis of this bacterium. On photoexcitation ppR undergoes photocycling; the photoexcited state relaxes in the dark and returns to the original state via several intermediates. The photocycle of ppR resembles that of bR except in wavelengths and rate. The cycle of bR is completed in 10 ms while that of ppR takes seconds. The Arrhenius analysis of M-intermediate (ppR(M)) decay which is rate-limiting revealed that the slow decay is due to the large negative activation entropy of ppR. The addition of azide increases the decay rate 300-fold (at pH 7); Arrhenius analysis revealed decreases in the activation energy (activation enthalpy) and a further decrease in the activation entropy.