One- and two-photon absorption spectra of the yellow fluorescent protein citrine: effects of intramolecular electron-vibrational coupling and intermolecular interactions

Abstract

ABSTRACTBoth the vibrationally resolved and statistically averaged one-photon absorption (OPA) and two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra of the anionic form of chromophore (AC) in its micro-environment of yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) Citrine have been calculated. The result comparison has been made with those of the AC model compounds in vacuo and methanol solution, which allows us to allocate the individual contribution of the intramolecular electron-vibrational coupling, the electrostatic π-stacking interaction between Tyr203 and AC, and the interaction between AC and its micro-environment to the spectra. The results reveal that the non-Condon vibronic coupling effect is responsible for the blue shift of TPA absorption maximum compared with its OPA counterpart corresponding to S0 → S1, and that the π-stacking interaction between Tyr203 and AC alters the relative intensities of TPA maxima, which further enhances the higher-energy vibronic peaks and weakens the lowest-energy peak. The statically averaged OPA and TPA spectra calculated by quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods based on Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation largely deviate the experimental spectral lineshapes, which further verifies the significant contribution of non-Condon vibronic coupling effect on the spectra. The interaction of individual amino acid residue or water close to AC+Tyr203 has different effects on the spectra, which may increase/decrease the excitation energy depending on its position and electronic property.