Influence of Polar Mutations on the Electronic and Structural Properties of QA-· in Bacterial Reaction Centers.

Abstract

Reaction centers from Rhodobacter sphaeroides with residue M265 mutated from isoleucine to threonine, serine, and asparagine (M265IT, M265IS, and M265IN, respectively) in the QA-· state are studied by high-resolution electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) and electron nuclear double resonance spectroscopy methods to investigate the structural characteristics of these mutants influencing the redox properties of the QA site. All three mutants decrease the redox midpoint potential (Em) of QA by ∼0.1 V, yet the mechanism for this drop in Em is unclear. In this work, we examine (i) the hydrogen bonding interactions between QA-· and residues histidine M219 and alanine M260, (ii) the electron spin density distribution of the semiquinone, and (iii) the orientations of the ubiquinone methoxy substituents. 13C measurements show no significant contribution of methoxy dihedral angles to the observed decrease in Em for the QA mutants. Instead, 14N three-pulse ESEEM data suggest that electrostatic or hydrogen bond formation between the mutated M265 side chain and His-M219 Nδ may be involved in the observed lowering of the QA midpoint potential. For mutant M265IN, analysis of the proton hyperfine couplings reveals a weakened hydrogen bond network, resulting in an altered QA-· spin density distribution. The magnetic resonance study presented here is most consistent with an electrostatic or structural perturbation of the His-M219 Nδ hydrogen bond in these mutants as a mechanism for the ∼0.1 V decrease in QA Em.