Modification of two peptides of bacteriorhodopsin with a pentaamminecobalt (III) complex

Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) was regenerated from the cation-depleted blue membrane with pentaammineaquocobalt(III) tetrafluoroborate [( Co(NH3)5H2O]3+[BF4-]3). Illumination of the sample with orange light decreased the extinction at 568 nm concomitantly with a hypsochromic shift of the absorption maximum. The photocycle of this sample was inhibited, and the rate of proton pumping was reduced. Chymotryptic cleavage of the corresponding apomembrane into the two fragments C1 and C2 and their subsequent separation revealed that cobalt label is only attached to C1. The maximal incorporation of Co into this peptide was 0.3 Co/C1. After cleavage of C1 with cyanogen bromide and subsequent proteolysis with trypsin and chymotrypsin, this modification could be associated with peptides from cyanogen bromide fragments 6 and 9. The sequences were determined to be 101Val-Asp-Ala-Asp-Gln and 228Ala-Ile-Phe-Gly-Glu-Ala-Glu-Ala. These peptides contain the sequences Asp-Ala-Asp and Glu-Ala-Glu, respectively, which might be constituents of the same cation binding site. The observation that the incorporation of Co into bacteriorhodopsin is enhanced under illumination with orange light indicates that this site might be involved in the proton uptake.