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Carotenoid response to retinal excitation and photoisomerization dynamics in xanthorhodopsin
Václav Slouf1, Sergei P Balashov, Janos K Lanyi
1Institute of Physical Biology, University of South Bohemia, Zámek 136, 373 33 Nové Hrady, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
We present a comparative study of xanthorhodopsin, a proton pump with the carotenoid salinixanthin serving as an antenna, and the closely related bacteriorhodopsin. Upon excitation of retinal, xanthorhodopsin exhibits a wavy transient absorption pattern in the region between 470 and 540 nm. We interpret this signal as due to electrochromic effect of the transient electric field of excited retinal on salinixanthin. The spectral shift decreases during the retinal dynamics through the ultrafast part of the photocycle. Differences in dynamics of bacteriorhodopsin and xanthorhodopsin are discussed.
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