Serial Femtosecond Crystallography and Ultrafast Absorption Spectroscopy of the Photoswitchable Fluorescent Protein IrisFP

Jacques Philippe Colletier, Michel Sliwa, François Xavier Gallat, Michihiro Sugahara, Virginia Guillon, Giorgio Schirò, Nicolas Coquelle, Joyce Woodhouse, Laure Roux, Guillaume Gotthard, Antoine Royant, Lucas Martinez Uriarte, Cyril Ruckebusch, Yasumasa Joti, Martin Byrdin, Eiichi Mizohata, Eriko Nango, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Kensuke Tono, Makina YabashiVirgile Adam, Marco Cammarata, Ilme Schlichting, Dominique Bourgeois, Martin Weik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent proteins find growing applications in cell biology, yet mechanistic details, in particular on the ultrafast photochemical time scale, remain unknown. We employed time-resolved pump-probe absorption spectroscopy on the reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein IrisFP in solution to study photoswitching from the nonfluorescent (off) to the fluorescent (on) state. Evidence is provided for the existence of several intermediate states on the pico- and microsecond time scales that are attributed to chromophore isomerization and proton transfer, respectively. Kinetic modeling favors a sequential mechanism with the existence of two excited state intermediates with lifetimes of 2 and 15 ps, the second of which controls the photoswitching quantum yield. In order to support that IrisFP is suited for time-resolved experiments aiming at a structural characterization of these ps intermediates, we used serial femtosecond crystallography at an X-ray free electron laser and solved the structure of IrisFP in its on state. Sample consumption was minimized by embedding crystals in mineral grease, in which they remain photoswitchable. Our spectroscopic and structural results pave the way for time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography aiming at characterizing the structure of ultrafast intermediates in reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent proteins.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)882-887
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Volume7
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Mar 3
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Serial Femtosecond Crystallography and Ultrafast Absorption Spectroscopy of the Photoswitchable Fluorescent Protein IrisFP'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this