Structural Information about the trans-to- cis Isomerization Mechanism of the Photoswitchable Fluorescent Protein rsEGFP2 Revealed by Multiscale Infrared Transient Absorption

J Phys Chem Lett. 2022 Feb 10;13(5):1194-1202. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c02920. Epub 2022 Jan 27.

Abstract

RsEGFP2 is a reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein used in super-resolved optical microscopies, which can be toggled between a fluorescent On state and a nonfluorescent Off state. Previous time-resolved ultraviolet-visible spectroscopic studies have shown that the Off-to-On photoactivation extends over the femto- to millisecond time scale and involves two picosecond lifetime excited states and four ground state intermediates, reflecting a trans-to-cis excited state isomerization, a millisecond deprotonation, and protein structural reorganizations. Femto- to millisecond time-resolved multiple-probe infrared spectroscopy (TRMPS-IR) can reveal structural aspects of intermediate species. Here we apply TRMPS-IR to rsEGFP2 and implement a Savitzky-Golay derivative analysis to correct for baseline drift. The results reveal that a subpicosecond twisted excited state precursor controls the trans-to-cis isomerization and the chromophore reaches its final position in the protein pocket within 100 ps. A new step with a time constant of 42 ns is reported and assigned to structural relaxation of the protein that occurs prior to the deprotonation of the chromophore on the millisecond time scale.

MeSH terms

  • Benzylidene Compounds / chemistry
  • Benzylidene Compounds / radiation effects
  • Imidazoles / chemistry
  • Imidazoles / radiation effects
  • Isomerism
  • Luminescent Proteins / chemistry*
  • Luminescent Proteins / radiation effects
  • Protein Conformation
  • Spectrophotometry, Infrared

Substances

  • 5-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-2,3-dimethyl-3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-one
  • Benzylidene Compounds
  • Imidazoles
  • Luminescent Proteins