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Light-induced structural changes in a monomeric bacteriophytochrome.

Heikki Takala, Stephan Niebling1, Oskar Berntsson1

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg 40530, Sweden.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Bacterial phytochromes, which sense light, can function as single units. A monomeric phytochrome variant showed light-induced structural changes, suggesting dimers are not essential for activation.

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Structural Biology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Phytochromes are photoreceptors that regulate biological processes in response to red light.
  • Bacterial phytochromes are typically dimeric, but the functional significance of this dimeric structure is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the structural dynamics of a monomeric bacterial phytochrome variant.
  • To determine if a single phytochrome unit is sufficient for light-induced structural changes.

Main Methods:

  • Time-resolved X-ray scattering (TR-XRS) was employed to study structural changes in solution.
  • Infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze protein refolding dynamics.

Main Results:

  • The monomeric phytochrome variant exhibited light-induced structural changes, including domain bending and twisting.
  • Evidence of PHY tongue refolding was observed via infrared spectroscopy.
  • These findings indicate that a single phytochrome unit can undergo functional conformational changes.

Conclusions:

  • A monomer of the bacterial phytochrome photosensory core module is sufficient for light-induced structural activation.
  • Allosteric cooperation between monomers is not required for the initial structural changes.
  • The dimeric arrangement in bacterial phytochromes might be primarily related to their biochemical output domains.