Skip NavigationSkip to Content

Observation of early events in the photoactivation of Myxobacterial phytochrome using time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography

  1. Author:
    Malla,Tek [ORCID]
    Aldama, Luis
    Leon, Viridiana
    Feliz, Denisse
    Hu, Hao [ORCID]
    Thomas, Isaiah
    Cellini, Andrea [ORCID]
    Wahlgren, Weixiao Y [ORCID]
    Nimmrich, Amke
    Botha, Sabine [ORCID]
    Sierra, Ray [ORCID]
    Hunter, Mark S [ORCID]
    Poitevin, Frédéric
    Lisova, Stella
    Batyuk, Alexander [ORCID]
    Gate, Gregory [ORCID]
    Jernigan, Rebecca
    Kupitz, Christopher J
    Maj, Piotr [ORCID]
    Meszaros, Petra
    Kurttila, Moona [ORCID]
    Monrroy, Leonardo
    Luo, Fangjia [ORCID]
    Owada, Shigeki
    Kang, Jungmin [ORCID]
    Slavov, Chavdar [ORCID]
    Maj, Michal [ORCID]
    Gautier, Candice [ORCID]
    Kashipathy, Maithri
    Tolstikova, Alexandra [ORCID]
    Mariani, Valerio
    Barty, Anton
    Moss, Frank
    Schwander, Peter [ORCID]
    Liu, Haiguang
    Boutet, Sébastien [ORCID]
    Fromme, Petra [ORCID]
    Takala, Heikki [ORCID]
    Ihalainen, Janne A [ORCID]
    Weierstall, Uwe
    Westenhoff, Sebastian [ORCID]
    Stojkovic, Emina A [ORCID]
    Schmidt, Marius [ORCID]
  2. Author Address

    1Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA. 2Vaccine Research Center Electron Microscopy Unit, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA. 3Department of Biology, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL, USA. 4Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. 5Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. 6Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. 7Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA. 8School of Molecular Sciences and Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA. 9Department of Chemistry-BMC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. 10Nanoscience Center, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland. 11Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan. 12RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo, Japan. 13Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. 14Department of Chemistry- Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. 15Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany. 16Microsoft Research AI4Science, Beijing, China. 17Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA. smarius@uwm.edu.
    1. Year: 2025
    2. Date: Jun 12
    3. Epub Date: 2025 06 12
  1. Journal: Communications Chemistry
    1. 8
    2. 1
    3. Pages: 183
  2. Type of Article: Article
  3. Article Number: 183
  1. Abstract:

    Myxobacteria are non-photosynthetic, soil-dwelling bacteria distinguished by a multicellular stage in their life cycle known as fruiting bodies that are stimulated by light. Myxobacterial phytochromes are candidates for the perception of red-light. The mechanism how light is perceived and converted to a physiological response is unknown. Here, time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallographic (TR-SFX) experiments were conducted on microcrystals of the photosensory core module of the Stigmatella aurantiaca bacteriophytochrome 2 (SaBphP2). Initial events of the Z to E isomerization reaction of the covalently bound, open-chain tetrapyrrole biliverdin (BV) chromophore were determined. At 3 ps after light activation, the BV ring-D assumes a configuration needed for the isomerization. At 100 ps, a mixture of BV in the Z or E configuration is observed in subunit A, while in the other subunit the chromophore remains in the Z configuration. In conjunction with prior results, these structures reveal the molecular mechanism of phytochrome activation in the photomorphogenesis of the myxobacteria and provide the molecular foundation for physiological responses to red light in other bacteria. © 2025. The Author(s).

    See More

External Sources

  1. DOI: 10.1038/s42004-025-01578-z
  2. PMID: 40506475
  3. PMCID: PMC12162953
  4. PII : 10.1038/s42004-025-01578-z

Library Notes

  1. Fiscal Year: FY2024-2025
NCI at Frederick

You are leaving a government website.

This external link provides additional information that is consistent with the intended purpose of this site. The government cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal site.

Linking to a non-federal site does not constitute an endorsement by this institution or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the site. You will be subject to the destination site's privacy policy when you follow the link.

ContinueCancel