Y. Imamoto et al., Primary photoreaction of photoactive yellow protein studied by subpicosecond-nanosecond spectroscopy, BIOCHEM, 40(20), 2001, pp. 6047-6052
The primary photochemical event of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) was stu
died by laser flash photolysis experiments on a subpicosecond-nanosecond ti
me scale. PYP was excited by a 390-nm pulse, and the transient difference a
bsorption spectra were recorded by a multichannel spectrometer for a more r
eliable spectral analysis than previously possible. Just after excitation,
an absorbance decrease due to the stimulated emission at 500 nm and photoco
nversion of PYP at 450 nm were observed. The stimulated emission gradually
shifted to 520 nm and was retained up to 4 ps. Then, the formation of a red
-shifted intermediate with a broad absorption spectrum was observed from 20
ps to 1 ns. Another red-shifted intermediate with a narrow absorption spec
trum was formed after 2 ns and was stable for at least 5 ns. The latter is
therefore believed to correspond to I1 (PYPL), which has been detected on a
nanosecond time scale or trapped at -80 degreesC. Singular value decomposi
tion analysis demonstrated that the spectral shifts observed from 0.5 ps to
5 ns could be explained by two-component decay of excited state(s) and con
version from PYPB to PYPL. The amount of PYPL at 5 ns was less than that of
photoconverted PYP, suggesting the formation of another intermediate, PYPH
. In addition, the absorption spectra of these intermediates were calculate
d based on the proposed reaction scheme. Together, these results indicate t
hat the photocycle of PYP at room temperature has a branched pathway in the
early stage and is essentially similar to that observed under low-temperat
ure spectroscopy.