Rapid thermal tuning of chromophore structure in membrane protein

We show that the configuration and the optical property of the retinal chromophore in bacteriorhodopsin (bR) can be tuned dynamically from the all-trans configuration to the 13-cis by using a nanosecond laser-induced temperature-jump. The rapid bleach in the visible absorption optical density of retinal has an apparent formation time of ca. 170 ns, whereas the relaxation process finishes within tens of ms. The dynamical transition of retinal from the all-trans to 13-cis species is believed to occur as a result of rapid protein conformational change especially in the vicinity of retinal binding site. Our study reveals the intrinsic dynamical aspect of the retinal chromophore with respect to the protein structure.