Function and picosecond dynamics of bacteriorhodopsin in purple membrane at different lipidation and hydration

By neutron scattering experiments and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy we have investigated picosecond equilibrium fluctuations and the kinetics of the photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) in the purple membrane (PM). Natural PM samples composed of 75% BR (w/w) and 25% lipid (w/w) as well as delipidated PM having only 5% lipid (w/w) were measured at different levels of hydration. We observed a reduced 'flexibility', due to a diminished weight of stochastic large-amplitude motions occurring in the delipidated PM as compared to the natural PM. This effect is more pronounced for wet samples, indicating the importance of lipid hydration for protein dynamics. The reduced flexibility is accompanied by significantly larger time constants describing the decay of the M-intermediate. Therefore, a correlation between the dynamical behavior of the protein-lipid complex and BR function emerges.