Harald Paulsen

Proteins are inherently dynamic entities that rely on flexibility across multiple timescales to perform their biological functions. The surrounding environment plays a critical role in modulating protein dynamics by exerting plasticizing or stabilizing effects. In order to characterize the conformational dynamics of Water-Soluble Chlorophyll-Binding Protein (WSCP), we measured Quasielastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) spectra over a wide temperature range between 100 and 300 K. The impact of glycerol, a common stabilizer, is investigated by comparing WSCP dissolved in a glycerol–water-containing buffer (WSCP^W+G) with WSCP in a water-containing buffer (WSCP^W). The results indicate that conformational protein dynamics are widely suppressed below 200 K but increase above this threshold, with the appearance of localized protein motions on the picosecond timescale. Glycerol appears to limit protein mobility between 280 and 300 K due to its high viscosity and hydrogen bonding in contrast to WSCP in water. Inelastic Neutron Scattering (INS) reveals the vibrational dynamics of WSCP with pronounced low-energy protein vibrations observed at about 2.5 and 6 meV. In the presence of glycerol, however, a stiffening of the vibrational motions which shifts the vibrational peaks to higher frequencies is observed.

A magnetophotoselection (MPS) investigation of the photoexcited triplet state of chlorophyll a both in a frozen organic solvent and in a protein environment, provided by the water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) of Lepidium virginicum, is reported. The MPS experiment combines the photoselection achieved by exciting with linearly polarized light with the magnetic selection of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, allowing the determination of the relative orientation of the optical transition dipole moment and the zero-field splitting tensor axes in both environments. We demonstrate the robustness of the proposed methodology for a quantitative description of the excitonic interactions among pigments. The orientation of the optical transition dipole moments determined by the EPR analysis in WSCP, identified as an appropriate model system, are in excellent agreement with those calculated in the point-dipole approximation. In addition, MPS provides information on the electronic properties of the triplet state, localized on a single chlorophyll a pigment of the protein cluster, in terms of orientation of the zero-field splitting tensor axes in the molecular frame.

Spider mites are one of the major agricultural pests, feeding on a large variety of plants. As a contribution to understanding chemical communication in these arthropods, we have characterized a recently discovered class of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in Tetranychus urticae. As in other species of Chelicerata, the four OBPs of T. urticae contain six conserved cysteines paired in a pattern (C1–C6, C2–C3, C4–C5) differing from that of insect counterparts (C1–C3, C2–C5, C4–C6). Proteomic analysis uncovered a second family of OBPs, including twelve members that are likely to be unique to T. urticae. A three-dimensional model of TurtOBP1, built on the recent X-ray structure of Varroa destructor OBP1, shows protein folding different from that of insect OBPs, although with some common features. Ligand-binding experiments indicated some affinity to coniferyl aldehyde, but specific ligands may still need to be found among very large molecules, as suggested by the size of the binding pocket.

Water-soluble chlorophyll proteins (WSCPs) are homotetrameric proteins that bind four chlorophyll (Chl) molecules in identical binding sites, which makes WSCPs a good model to study protein–pigment interactions. In a previous study, we described preferential binding of Chl a or Chl b in various WSCP versions. Chl b binding is preferred when a hydrogen bond can be formed between the C₇ formyl of the chlorin macrocycle and the protein, whereas Chl a is preferred when Chl b binding is sterically unfavorable. Here, we determined the binding affinities and kinetics of various WSCP versions not only for Chl a/b, but also for chlorophyllide (Chlide) a/b and pheophytin (Pheo) a/b. Altered K_D values are responsible for the Chl a/b selectivity in WSCP whereas differences in the reaction kinetics are neglectable in explaining different Chl a/b preferences. WSCP binds both Chlide and Pheo with a lower affinity than Chl, which indicates the importance of the phytol chain and the central Mg²⁺ ion as interaction sites between WSCP and pigment. Pheophorbide (Pheoide), lacking both the phytol chain and the central Mg²⁺ ion, can only be bound as Pheoide b to a WSCP that has a higher affinity for Chl b than Chl a, which underlines the impact of the C₇ formyl-protein interaction. Moreover, WSCP was able to bind protochlorophyllide and Mg-protoporphyrin IX, which suggests that neither the size of the π electron system of the macrocycle nor the presence of a fifth ring at the macrocycle notably affect the binding to WSCP. WSCP also binds heme to form a tetrameric complex, suggesting that heme is bound in the Chl-binding site.

The interplay between active molecules and the protein environment in light-harvesting complexes tunes the photophysics and the dynamical properties of pigment-protein complexes in a subtle way, which is not fully understood. Here we characterized the photophysics and the ultrafast dynamics of four variants of the Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein (WSCP) as an ideal model system to study the behavior of strongly interacting chlorophylls. We found that, when coordinated by WSCP protein, the presence of the formyl group in Chlorophyll b replacing the methyl group in Chlorophyll a strongly affects the excitons energy and the dynamics of the system, opening up the possibility of tuning the photophysics and the transport properties of multi-chromophores by engineering specific interactions with the surroundings.

An investigation of the photoexcited triplet state of chlorophyll (Chl) b has been carried out by means of Electron Nuclear Double Resonance (ENDOR), both in frozen organic solvent and in protein environment provided by the Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein of Lepidium virginicum. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have allowed the complete assignment of the observed hyperfine couplings corresponding to the methine protons and the methyl groups, leading to a complete picture of the spin density distribution of the triplet state in the tetrapyrrole macrocycle. The triplet state properties of Chl b were found to be similar in many respects to those previously reported for Chl a, although some specificities have been highlighted. Concerning the spin density distribution, the differences are manly localized on the carbon atoms close to the formyl group which, in Chl b, replaces the methyl group of Chl a.

Water-soluble chlorophyll proteins (WSCP) from Brassicaceae form homotetrameric chlorophyll (Chl)–protein complexes binding one Chl per apoprotein and no carotenoids. Despite the lack of photoprotecting pigments, the complex-bound Chls displays a remarkable stability toward photodynamic damage. On the basis of a mutational study, we show that not only the presence of the phytyls is necessary for photoprotection in WSCPs, as we previously demonstrated, but also is their correct conformation and localization. The extreme heat stability of WSCP also depends on the presence of the phytyl chains, confirming their relevance for the unusual stability of WSCP.

We altered the chlorophyll (Chl) binding sites in various versions of water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) by amino acid exchanges to alter their preferences for either Chl a or Chl b. WSCP is ideally suited for this mutational analysis since it forms a tetrameric complex with only four identical Chl binding sites. A loop of 4–6 amino acids is responsible for Chl a versus Chl b selectivity. We show that a single amino acid exchange within this loop changes the relative Chl a/b affinities by a factor of 40. We obtained crystal structures of this WSCP variant binding either Chl a or Chl b. The Chl binding sites in these structures were compared with those in the major light-harvesting complex (LHCII) of the photosynthetic apparatus in plants to search for similar structural features involved in Chl a/b binding specificity.

Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) of triplet states populated by photoexcitation in the Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein (WSCP) from Lepidium virginicum has been performed, using both absorption and fluorescence detection. Well resolved Triplet minus Singlet (T-S) spectra have been obtained, which have been interpreted in terms of electronic interactions among the four chlorophylls (Chls) forming two dimers in WSCP tetramer. Localization of the triplet state on a single Chl leads to a redistribution of the oscillator strenght in the remaining three Chls of the complex. Comparing the spectra with those obtained on a substoichiometric WSCP complex containing only two Chls per protein tetramer, we proved that, to interpret the optical spectra of WSCP fully loaded with four Chls, the interactions between the two dimers have to be taken into account and cannot be considered negligible. The results show that WSCP may well be considered an ideal model system to study Chl-Chl interactions, in view also of the possibility to modify the number and molecular structure of the bound porphyrin chromophores.