Low temperature FTIR of Antarctic rhodopsin

Rhodopsins are a family of light sensitive proteins which are photosensory in complex organisms (such as humans) but have other functions (ion pumps and channels) in microbial organisms. We have discovered a new and unique group of rhodopsins which were isolated from a microbe in a fresh water lake in Antarctica, called Lake Fryxell. Through preliminary biophysical techniques I have shown that it functions as an inward directed proton pump which is unusual because the vast majority of proton pumps transport protons in the extracellular direction to generate energy. The biological significance of inward proton pumping is not yet known. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) probes vibrations of molecules and provides molecular details of protein function. Low temperature FTIR can be used to trap intermediate states and provides a more complete view of the mechanism. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Leonid Brown

Student:

Partner:

Nagoya Institute of Technology

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Guelph

Program: