Blue-light Sensing Using Flavin Research Articles

The role of electron transfer in the enzymatic activity of a photoactivable adenylate cyclase.

OaPAC is a photoactivated adenylate cyclase (PAC) from the photosynthetic cyanobacterium Oscillatoria acuminata and belongs to a class of photoactive flavoenzymes which are involved in the conversion of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to the important second messenger cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate). The photoactivation is controlled by a BLUF (Blue Light Sensing Using Flavin) domain; a well-known light-triggered switch present in many biological photoreceptors and able to control photochemical energy into a diverse set of cellular responses (e.g. phototaxis, photophobia, enzyme activity, gene expression). Blue-light excitation of the BLUF domain of OaPAC results in a proton-coupled electron transfer process where the primary electron and proton donor is a tyrosine residue in the vicinity of the flavin. The electron transfer to the flavin is accompanied by a reorganization of its hydrogen bond network, and the induced structural changes are believed to propagate towards the AC domain enabling the conversion of ATP to cAMP. In this work we studied the relation between the electron transfer and the activity of the enzyme using ultrafast and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as differential scanning calorimetry. A.L. acknowledges funding from the Hungarian National Research and Innovation Office (K-137557).

Spectroscopic and Computational Observation of Glutamine Tautomerization in the Blue Light Sensing Using Flavin Domain Photoreaction.

Blue light sensing using flavin (BLUF) domains constitute a family of flavin-binding photoreceptors of bacteria and eukaryotic algae. BLUF photoactivation proceeds via a light-driven hydrogen-bond switch among flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and glutamine and tyrosine side chains, whereby FAD undergoes electron and proton transfer with tyrosine and is subsequently re-oxidized by a hydrogen back-shuttle in picoseconds, constituting an important model system to understand proton-coupled electron transfer in biology. The specific structure of the hydrogen-bond patterns and the prevalence of glutamine tautomeric states in dark-adapted (DA) and light-activated (LA) states have remained controversial. Here, we present a combined femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS), computational chemistry, and site-selective isotope labeling Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study of the Slr1694 BLUF domain. FSRS showed distinct vibrational bands from the FADS1 singlet excited state. We observed small but significant shifts in the excited-state vibrational frequency patterns of the DA and LA states, indicating that these frequencies constitute a sensitive probe for the hydrogen-bond arrangement around FAD. Excited-state model calculations utilizing four different realizations of hydrogen bond patterns and glutamine tautomeric states were consistent with a BLUF reaction model that involved glutamine tautomerization to imidic acid, accompanied by a rotation of its side chain. A combined FTIR and double-isotope labeling study, with 13C labeling of FAD and 15N labeling of glutamine, identified the glutamine imidic acid C═N stretch vibration in the LA state and the Gln C═O in the DA state. Hence, our study provides support for glutamine tautomerization and side-chain rotation in the BLUF photoreaction.

Functional dynamics of the photoactivated adenylate cyclase OaPAC revealed by fluorescence spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering

OaPAC is a photoactivated adenylate cyclase (PAC) from the photosynthetic cyanobacterium Oscillatoria acuminata and belongs to a class of photoactive flavoenzymes which are involved in the conversion of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to the important second messenger cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate). The photoactivation is controlled by a BLUF (Blue Light Sensing Using Flavin) domain; a well-known light-triggered switch present in many biological photoreceptors and able to control photochemical energy into a diverse set of cellular responses (e.g.

Light Modulates Metabolic Pathways and Other Novel Physiological Traits in the Human Pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii

Light sensing in chemotrophic bacteria has been relatively recently ascertained. In the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, light modulates motility, biofilm formation, and virulence through the blue-light-sensing-using flavin (BLUF) photoreceptor BlsA. In addition, light can induce a reduction in susceptibility to certain antibiotics, such as minocycline and tigecycline, in a photoreceptor-independent manner. In this work, we identified new traits whose expression levels are modulated by light in this pathogen, which comprise not only important determinants related to pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance but also metabolic pathways, which represents a novel concept for chemotrophic bacteria. Indeed, the phenylacetic acid catabolic pathway and trehalose biosynthesis were modulated by light, responses that completely depend on BlsA. We further show that tolerance to some antibiotics and modulation of antioxidant enzyme levels are also influenced by light, likely contributing to bacterial persistence in adverse environments. Also, we present evidence indicating that surfactant production is modulated by light. Finally, the expression of whole pathways and gene clusters, such as genes involved in lipid metabolism and genes encoding components of the type VI secretion system, as well as efflux pumps related to antibiotic resistance, was differentially induced by light. Overall, our results indicate that light modulates global features of the A. baumannii lifestyle.IMPORTANCE The discovery that nonphototrophic bacteria respond to light constituted a novel concept in microbiology. In this context, we demonstrated that light could modulate aspects related to bacterial virulence, persistence, and resistance to antibiotics in the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii In this work, we present the novel finding that light directly regulates metabolism in this chemotrophic bacterium. Insights into the mechanism show the involvement of the photoreceptor BlsA. In addition, tolerance to antibiotics and catalase levels are also influenced by light, likely contributing to bacterial persistence in adverse environments, as is the expression of the type VI secretion system and efflux pumps. Overall, a profound influence of light on the lifestyle of A. baumannii is suggested to occur.

A proposal for a dipole-generated BLUF domain mechanism.

The resting and signaling structures of the blue-light sensing using flavin (BLUF) photoreceptor domains are still controversially debated due to differences in the molecular models obtained by crystal and NMR structures. Photocycles for the given preferred structural framework have been established, but a unifying picture combining experiment and theory remains elusive. We summarize present work on the AppA BLUF domain from both experiment and theory. We focus on IR and UV/vis spectra, and to what extent theory was able to reproduce experimental data and predict the structural changes upon formation of the signaling state. We find that the experimental observables can be theoretically reproduced employing any structural model, as long as the orientation of the signaling essential Gln63 and its tautomer state are a choice of the modeler. We also observe that few approaches are comparative, e.g., by considering all structures in the same context. Based on recent experimental findings and a few basic calculations, we suggest the possibility for a BLUF activation mechanism that only relies on electron transfer and its effect on the local electrostatics, not requiring an associated proton transfer. In this regard, we investigate the impact of dispersion correction on the interaction energies arising from weakly bound amino acids.

Code blue: Acinetobacter baumannii, a nosocomial pathogen with a role in the oral cavity.

Actinetobacter baumannii is an important nosocomial pathogen that can cause a wide range of serious conditions including pneumonia, meningitis, necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis. It is also a major cause of wound infections in military personnel injured during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, leading to its popular nickname of 'Iraqibacter'. Contributing to its success in clinical settings is resistance to environmental stresses such as desiccation and disinfectants. Moreover, in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of A.baumannii strains with resistance to multiple antibiotic classes. Acinetobacter baumannii is an inhabitant of oral biofilms, which can act as a reservoir for pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Subgingival colonization by A.baumannii increases the risk of refractory periodontitis. Pathogenesis of the organism involves adherence, biofilm formation and iron acquisition. In addition, A.baumannii can induce apoptotic cell death in epithelial cells and kill hyphal forms of Candida albicans. Virulence factors that have been identified include pili, the outer membrane protein OmpA, phospholipases and extracellular polysaccharide. Acinetobacter baumannii can sense blue light through a blue-light sensing using flavin (BLUF) domain protein, BlsA. The resulting conformational change in BlsA leads to changes in gene expression, including virulence genes.

Blue-light-dependent inhibition of twitching motility in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1: additive involvement of three BLUF-domain-containing proteins

Twitching motility in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 is inhibited by moderate intensities of blue light in a temperature-dependent manner (maximally at 20 °C). We analysed the involvement of four predicted blue-light sensing using flavin (BLUF)-domain-containing proteins encoded in the genome of this strain in the twitching motility phenotype. All four genes were expressed both in light and in darkness. A phylogenetic tree showed that one BLUF domain, ACIAD2110, grouped separately from the other three (ACIAD1499, ACIAD2125 and ACIAD2129). Individual knockout mutants of the latter three, but not of ACIAD2110, fully abolished the light dependency of the twitching motility response. Quantitative analysis of transcript level of the three genes showed a decreased expression in the light, with dark/light ratios of 1.65±0.28, 1.79±0.21 and 2.69±0.39, for ACIAD2125, ACIAD2129 and ACIAD1499, respectively. Double and triple knockouts of ACIAD1499, ACIAD2125 and ACIAD2129 confirmed the same phenotype as the corresponding single knockouts. Complementation of all the single knockouts and the triple knockout mutants with any of the three BLUF-domain-encoding genes fully restored the inhibition of twitching motility by blue light that is observed in the wild-type strain. A. baylyi ADP1 therefore shows a high degree of redundancy in the genes that encode BLUF-containing photoreceptors. Moreover, all plasmid-complemented strains, expressing any of the BLUF proteins irrespective of the specific set of deleted photoreceptors, displayed increased light-dependent inhibition of twitching motility, as compared to the wild-type (P<0.001). We conclude that the three genes ACIAD1499, ACIAD2125 and ACIAD2129 are jointly required to inhibit twitching motility under moderate blue-light illumination.

BLUF Hydrogen network dynamics and UV/Vis spectra: A combined molecular dynamics and quantum chemical study

Blue light sensing using flavin (BLUF) protein photoreceptor domains change their hydrogen bond network after photoexcitation. To explore this phenomenon, BLUF domains from R. sphaeroides were simulated using Amber99 molecular dynamics (MD). Five starting configurations were considered, to study different BLUF proteins (AppA/BlrB), Trp conformations ("W(in)"/"W(out)"), structure determination (X-ray/NMR), and finally, His protonation states. We found dependencies of the hydrogen bonds on almost all parameters. Our data show an especially strong correlation of the Trp position and hydrogen bonds involving Gln63. The latter is in some contradiction to earlier results (Obanayama et al., Photochem. Photobiol. 2008, 84 10031010). Possible origins and implications are discussed. Our calculations support conjectures that Gln63 is more flexible with Trp104 in W(in) position. Using snapshots from MD and time-dependent density functional theory, UV/vis spectra for the chromophore were determined, which account for molecular motion of the protein under ambient conditions. In accord with experiment, it is found that the UV/vis spectra of BLUF bound flavin are red-shifted and thermally broadened for all calculated π → π* transitions, relative to gas phase flavin at T = 0 K. However, differences in the spectra between the various BLUF configurations cannot be resolved with the present approach.

The Central Role of Gln63 for the Hydrogen Bonding Network and UV–Visible Spectrum of the AppA BLUF Domain

In blue-light sensing using flavin (BLUF) domains, the side-chain orientation of key residues close to the flavin chromophore is still under debate. We report quantum refinements of the wild-type AppA BLUF protein from Rhodobacter sphaeroides starting from two published X-ray structures (1YRX and 2IYG) with different arrangements of the residues around the chromophore. Quantum refinement uses the same experimental X-ray raw data as conventional refinement, but includes data from quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations as restraints, which is expected to be more reliable than the normally employed MM data. In addition to quantum refinement, pure QM/MM geometry optimizations are performed for the 1YRX and 2IYG structures and for five models derived therefrom. Vertical excitation energies are computed at the QM(DFT/MRCI)/MM level to assess the resulting structures. The experimental absorption maximum of the dark state of wild-type AppA is well reproduced for structures that contain the Gln63 residue in 1YRX-type orientation. The computed excitation energies are red-shifted for structures with a flipped Gln63 residue in 2IYG-type orientation. The calculated 1YRX- and 2IYG-type hydrogen-bonding networks are discussed in detail, particularly with regard to the orientation of the chromophore and the Gln63, Trp104, and Met106 residues.

DFT/MM Description of Flavin IR Spectra in BLUF Domains

A class of photoreceptors occurring in various organisms consists of domains that are blue light sensing using flavin (BLUF). The vibrational spectra of the flavin chromophore are spectroscopically well characterized for the dark-adapted resting states and for the light-adapted signaling states of BLUF domains in solution. Here we present a theoretical analysis of such spectra by applying density functional theory (DFT) to the flavin embedded in molecular mechanics (MM) models of its protein and solvent environment. By DFT/MM we calculate flavin spectra for seven different X-ray and NMR structures of BLUF domains occurring in the transcriptional antirepressor AppA and in the blue light receptor B (BlrB) of the purple bacterium Rb. Sphaeroides as well as in the phototaxis photoreceptor Slr1694 of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis. By considering the dynamical stabilities of associated all-atom simulation models and by comparing calculated with observed vibrational spectra, we show that two of the considered structures (both AppA) are obviously erroneous and that specific features of two further crystal structures (BlrB and Slr1694) cannot represent the states of the respective BLUF domains in solution. Thereby, the conformational transitions elicited by solvation are identified. In this context we demonstrate how hydrogen bonds of varying strengths can tune in BLUF domains the C═O stretching frequencies of the flavin chromophore. Furthermore we show that the DFT/MM spectra of the flavin calculated for two different AppA BLUF conformations, which are called Trp(in) and Met(in), fit very well to the spectroscopic data observed for the dark and light states, respectively, if (i) polarized MM force fields, which are calculated by an iterative DFT/MM procedure, are employed for the flavin binding pockets and (ii) the calculated frequencies are properly scaled. Although the associated analysis indicates that the Trp(in) conformation belongs to the dark state, no clear light vs dark distinction emerges for the Met(in) conformation. In this connection, a number of methodological issues relevant for such complex computations are thoroughly discussed showing, in particular, why our current descriptions could not decide the light vs dark question for Met(in).

Applications of vibrational spectroscopy in the study of flavin-based photoactive proteins

Flavin cofactor is known to perform diverse biological functions. Recently, its role as a photoreceptor has been identified. So far, three classes of photoactive flavoproteins have been recognized: phototropin with LOV (Light, Oxygen and Voltage) domain, blue light sensory protein with BLUF (Blue Light sensing Using Flavin adenine dinucleotide) domain and photolyase/cryptochrome protein with PHR (Photolyase Homology Region) domain. Photochemistry of flavin is the key to unravel the reaction mechanisms of photoactive flavoproteins in their biological functions such as DNA repair or signal transduction. Vibrational (Infrared and Raman) spectroscopy is a useful and sensitive tool to investigate the photochemistry of flavin in protein environments and has significantly contributed to elucidate the reaction mechanisms of these photoactive proteins. This study will survey recent advances in vibrational spectroscopic studies on this topic and remaining questions to be answered.

Applications of vibrational spectroscopy in the study of flavin-based photoactive proteins

Flavin cofactor is known to perform diverse biological functions. Recently, its role as a photoreceptor has been identified. So far, three classes of photoactive flavoproteins have been recognized: phototropin with LOV (Light, Oxygen and Voltage) domain, blue light sensory protein with BLUF (Blue Light sensing Using Flavin adenine dinucleotide) domain and photolyase/cryptochrome protein with PHR (Photolyase Homology Region) domain. Photochemistry of flavin is the key to unravel the reaction mechanisms of photoactive flavoproteins in their biological functions such as DNA repair or signal transduction. Vibrational (Infrared and Raman) spectroscopy is a useful and sensitive tool to investigate the photochemistry of flavin in protein environments and has significantly contributed to elucidate the reaction mechanisms of these photoactive proteins. This study will survey recent advances in vibrational spectroscopic studies on this topic and remaining questions to be answered.

Shining a Light on an Opportunistic Pathogen

Shining a Light on an Opportunistic Pathogen

The Opportunistic Human PathogenAcinetobacter baumanniiSenses and Responds to Light

Light is a ubiquitous environmental signal that many organisms sense and respond to by modulating their physiological responses accordingly. While this is an expected response among phototrophic microorganisms, the ability of chemotrophic prokaryotes to sense and react to light has become a puzzling and novel issue in bacterial physiology, particularly among bacterial pathogens. In this work, we show that the opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii senses and responds to blue light. Motility and formation of biofilms and pellicles were observed only when bacterial cells were incubated in darkness. In contrast, the killing of Candida albicans filaments was enhanced when they were cocultured with bacteria under light. These bacterial responses depend on the expression of the A. baumannii ATCC 17978 A1S_2225 gene, which codes for an 18.6-kDa protein that contains an N-terminal blue-light-sensing-using flavin (BLUF) domain and lacks a detectable output domain(s). Spectral analyses of the purified recombinant protein showed its ability to sense light by a red shift upon illumination. Therefore, the A1S_2225 gene, which is present in several members of the Acinetobacter genus, was named blue-light-sensing A (blsA). Interestingly, temperature plays a role in the ability of A. baumannii to sense and respond to light via the BlsA photoreceptor protein.

Analysis of photoinduced electron transfer in AppA

The fluorescence dynamics of isoalloxazine (Iso) in AppA were analyzed in order to elucidate the mechanism of photoinduced electron transfer (ET) in a photosensing flavoprotein, blue-light sensing using flavin (BLUF) of AppA. The ET parameters contained in Kakitani and Mataga ET theory (KM theory) were determined by a non-linear least squares method using atomic coordinates obtained by molecular dynamic simulation (MD). The ET rate from Tyr21 to the excited state of isoalloxazine (Iso*) was slightly slower than that from Trp104 to Iso*. It was found that frequency factor ν 0 in the ET process from Tyr21 to Iso* was 16 times higher than the one from Tyr35 in a non-photosensing flavoprotein, flavin mononucleotide binding protein (FBP). Transferred charges and interaction energies in the systems of Iso*-Gln63-Trp104 and Iso*-Gln63-Tyr21 were obtained by a semi-empirical molecular orbital method (MO). Forty configurations of these systems by MD structures at 50 ps time intervals were geometrically optimized with the PM3 method. The mean charges at Iso* over 40 configurations were −0.254 ± 0.057 in the Iso*-Gln63-Trp104 system and 0.016 ± 0.002 in the Iso*-Gln63-Tyr21 system. Mean interaction energies among Iso*, Gln63 and Trp104 or Tyr21 were −11.7 ± 1.02 kcal/mol in the Iso*-Gln63-Trp104 system. The extraordinarily high ν 0 value in ET from Tyr21 to Iso* was elucidated by the H bond chain from Tyr21 to Iso* through Gln63, though MO results by PM3 could not elucidate it.

Chromophore composition of a heterologously expressed BLUF-domain

Upon heterologous expression of the BLUF (for: Blue-Light sensing Using Flavin) domain from AppA, a transcriptional anti-repressor from Rhodobacter sphaeroides, in Escherichia coli, photoactive holo-protein is formed through non-covalent binding of a flavin. Whereas it is generally assumed that FAD is the physiological chromophore of this photo-perception domain in vivo, E. coli can (and does) insert, depending on the growth conditions, all naturally occurring flavins, i.e. riboflavin, FMN and FAD into this protein domain. The nature of the particular flavin bound affects the photochemical- and particularly the fluorescence properties of the N-terminal domain of this photosensory protein.