Molecular motions in bacteriorhodopsin

Principal Investigator: Pál Ormos

Protein motion is regarded crucial in the pumping. In a three-way collaboration we determined the motions, the structural changes to the atomic level during the transition between the most significant states in the pumping cycle: the BR and M states. This gives crucial clues about the mechanism of pumping.

The animations below show the structural differences between the ground state and the M2 intermediate:



Reference:
H. Sass, G. Büldt, G. Gessenich, D. Hehn, R. Schlezinger, J. Berendzen, and P. Ormos, Essential structural alterations for proton translocation in the M state of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin, Nature 406 649-653 (2000)