The binding sites of quinones in photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers investigated by light-induced FTIR difference spectroscopy: assignment of the QA vibrations in Rhodobacter sphaeroides using 18O- or 13C-labeled ubiquinone and vitamin K1.

Light-induced FTIR difference spectra of the photoreduction of the primary quinone acceptor QA have been obtained for Rhodobacter sphaeroides RCs reconstituted with a series of isotopically labeled quinones in order to separate the contributions of the quinone from those of the protein. The isotopic shifts observed in the QA-/QA spectra of RCs reconstituted with ubiquinones (Q1, Q6) or vitamin K1 18O-labeled on their carbonyl oxygens and with fully 13C-labeled Q8 lead to a clear identification of the quinone bands from both the neutral and anion forms. Double-difference spectra from pairs of QA-/QA spectra obtained from 18O/16O Q6, 18O/16O Q1, 13C/12C Q8, 13C18O/12C16O Q8, and 18O/16O vitamin K1 allow the C = O modes of QA in vivo to be identified unambiguously for the first time. For all the investigated unlabeled quinones, two carbonyl bands are demasked, at 1660 and 1628 cm-1 for neutral ubiquinones and at 1651 and 1640 cm-1 for vitamin K1, while C = C bands are found at 1608 and 1588 cm-1 for vitamin K1 and at 1601 cm-1 for ubiquinones. Compared with the spectra of the isolated quinones, the generally smaller width observed for the C = O and C = C bands in vivo suggests precise interactions between the quinone and the contours of the protein at a single, well-defined QA site. The different frequency downshifts of the two C = O bands upon binding to the QA site underscore the inequivalence of the two carbonyls in providing asymmetrical bonding interactions with the protein. The comparison of the isotopic shifts observed for the various quinone C = O and C = C bands in vitro and in vivo demonstrates that the admixture of C = O and C = C characters in these modes is strongly affected by the binding of QA to its anchoring site. In particular, the bands at 1628 and 1601 cm-1 of Q6 in vivo exhibit highly mixed C = O and C = C characters. In contrast, the methoxy groups of the ubiquinones do not appear to suffer large strain upon binding. The closeness of the QA-/QA spectra for Q1 and Q6 indicates that a possible role of the chain in providing the proper positioning of the quinone ring in the site for both the oxidized and reduced states of QA cannot extend significantly beyond the first isoprene unit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)