Photoreversible interconversion of a phytochrome photosensory module in the crystalline state.

A major barrier to defining the structural intermediates that arise during the reversible photointerconversion of phytochromes between their biologically inactive and active states has been the lack of crystals that faithfully undergo this transition within the crystal lattice. Here, we describe a crystalline form of the cyclic GMP phosphodiesterases/adenylyl cyclase/FhlA (GAF) domain from the cyanobacteriochrome PixJ in Thermosynechococcus elongatus assembled with phycocyanobilin that permits reversible photoconversion between the blue light-absorbing Pb and green light-absorbing Pg states, as well as thermal reversion of Pg back to Pb. The X-ray crystallographic structure of Pb matches previous models, including autocatalytic conversion of phycocyanobilin to phycoviolobilin upon binding and its tandem thioether linkage to the GAF domain. Cryocrystallography at 150 K, which compared diffraction data from a single crystal as Pb or after irradiation with blue light, detected photoconversion product(s) based on Fobs - Fobs difference maps that were consistent with rotation of the bonds connecting pyrrole rings C and D. Further spectroscopic analyses showed that phycoviolobilin is susceptible to X-ray radiation damage, especially as Pg, during single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, which could complicate fine mapping of the various intermediate states. Fortunately, we found that PixJ crystals are amenable to serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) analyses using X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). As proof of principle, we solved by room temperature SFX the GAF domain structure of Pb to 1.55-Å resolution, which was strongly congruent with synchrotron-based models. Analysis of these crystals by SFX should now enable structural characterization of the early events that drive phytochrome photoconversion

Electronic Structure and Oxidation State Changes in the Mn (4) Ca Cluster of Photosystem II

Oxygen-evolving complex (Mn{sub 4}Ca cluster) of Photosystem II cycles through five intermediate states (S{sub i}-states, i = 0-4) before a molecule of dioxygen is released. During the S-state transitions, electrons are extracted from the OEC, either from Mn or alternatively from a Mn ligand. The oxidation state of Mn is widely accepted as Mn{sub 4}(III{sub 2},IV{sub 2}) and Mn{sub 4}(III,IV{sub 3}) for S{sub 1} and S{sub 2} states, while it is still controversial for the S{sub 0} and S{sub 3} states. We used resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) to study the electronic structure of Mn{sub 4}Ca complex in the OEC. The RIXS data yield two-dimensional plots that provide a significant advantage by obtaining both K-edge pre-edge and L-edge-like spectra (metal spin state) simultaneously. We have collected data from PSII samples in the each of the S-states and compared them with data from various inorganic Mn complexes. The spectral changes in the Mn 1s2p{sub 3/2} RIXS spectra between the S-states were compared to those of the oxides of Mn and coordination complexes. The results indicate strong covalency for the electronic configuration in the OEC, and we conclude that the electron is transferred from a strongly delocalized orbital, compared to those in Mn oxides or coordination complexes. The magnitude for the S{sub 0} to S{sub 1}, and S{sub 1} to S{sub 2} transitions is twice as large as that during the S{sub 2} to S{sub 3} transition, indicating that the electron for this transition is extracted from a highly delocalized orbital with little change in charge density at the Mn atoms

Structural changes in the Mn4Ca cluster and the mechanism of photosynthetic water splitting

Photosynthetic water oxidation, where water is oxidized to dioxygen, is a fundamental chemical reaction that sustains the biosphere. This reaction is catalyzed by a Mn4Ca complex in the photosystem II (PS II) oxygen-evolving complex (OEC): a multiprotein assembly embedded in the thylakoid membranes of green plants, cyanobacteria, and algae. The mechanism of photosynthetic water oxidation by the Mn4Ca cluster in photosystem II is the subject of much debate, although lacking structural characterization of the catalytic intermediates. Biosynthetically exchanged Ca/Sr-PS II preparations and x-ray spectroscopy, including extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), allowed us to monitor Mn–Mn and Ca(Sr)–Mn distances in the four intermediate S states, S0 through S3, of the catalytic cycle that couples the one-electron photochemistry occurring at the PS II reaction center with the four-electron water-oxidation chemistry taking place at the Mn4Ca(Sr) cluster. We have detected significant changes in the structure of the complex, especially in the Mn–Mn and Ca(Sr)–Mn distances, on the S2-to-S3 and S3-to-S0 transitions. These results implicate the involvement of at least one common bridging oxygen atom between the Mn–Mn and Mn–Ca(Sr) atoms in the O–O bond formation. Because PS II cannot advance beyond the S2 state in preparations that lack Ca(Sr), these results show that Ca(Sr) is one of the critical components in the mechanism of the enzyme. The results also show that Ca is not just a spectator atom involved in providing a structural framework, but is actively involved in the mechanism of water oxidation and represents a rare example of a catalytically active Ca cofactor

X-ray damage to the Mn(4)Ca complex in single crystals of photosystem II: A case study for metalloprotein crystallography

X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to measure the damage caused by exposure to x-rays to the Mn(4)Ca active site in single crystals of photosystem II as a function of dose and energy of x-rays, temperature, and time. These studies reveal that the conditions used for structure determination by x-ray crystallography cause serious damage specifically to the metal-site structure. The x-ray absorption spectra show that the structure changes from one that is characteristic of a high-valent Mn(4)(III(2),IV(2)) oxo-bridged Mn(4)Ca cluster to that of Mn(II) in aqueous solution. This damage to the metal site occurs at a dose that is more than one order of magnitude lower than the dose that results in loss of diffractivity and is commonly considered safe for protein crystallography. These results establish quantitative x-ray dose parameters that are applicable to redox-active metalloproteins. This case study shows that a careful evaluation of the structural intactness of the active site(s) by spectroscopic techniques can validate structures derived from crystallography and that it can be a valuable complementary method before structure–function correlations of metalloproteins can be made on the basis of high-resolution x-ray crystal structures

Focusing the view on nature's water-splitting catalyst

Nature invented a catalyst about 3 Gyr ago, which splits water with high efficiency into molecular oxygen and hydrogen equivalents (protons and electrons). This reaction is energetically driven by sunlight and the active centre contains relatively cheap and abundant metals: manganese and calcium. This biological system therefore forms the paradigm for all man-made attempts for direct solar fuel production, and several studies are underway to determine the electronic and geometric structures of this catalyst. In this report we briefly summarize the problems and the current status of these efforts and propose a density functional theory-based strategy for obtaining a reliable high-resolution structure of this unique catalyst that includes both the inorganic core and the first ligand sphere