Научный семинар лаборатории КФД 20 октября 2025

Abstract: The blue light using flavin (BLUF) domain is one of the smallest photoreceptors in nature found in many different species. After initiation by light, the central triad in the BLUF domain can undergo a series of photodynamic processes, including proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET), proton rocking, and proton relay, resulting in the hydrogen bond rearrangement in the central triad FMN-Gln-Tyr, thereby landing in the light state, whose absorption is red-shifted compared to the dark state. The hydrogen bond rearrangement will hence induce structural change in the protein, and the light-induced signal will be transferred to the downstream effectors to conduct biological function. In the past, since the discovery of the BLUF domain, the elementary processes of the photodynamics have not been clearly disassembled. The nature of the elementary processes, the sequences, and kinetic isotope effect were ambiguous. In the past few years, we engaged in researching the photodynamic elementary processes of the BLUF domain. Through mutant design and developing new kinetic data analysis methods to analyse the transient absorption data, we have disentangled the elementary processes of the BLUF domain. The key to deconvolute the photodynamics of the BLUF domain is to capture the proton relay intermediate, showing that the proton relay process in the BLUF domain is step-wise. Using NMR and fluorinated Trp, we have determined the structural heterogeneity in the active site of different BLUF species. We have also conducted cross-species analysis on the light-state BLUF domain and reveal that the key of forming the light state is the final reverse PCET process.

Место проведения семинара — к. Ц65.

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