Hydrogen bonding interactions with the Schiff base of bacteriorhodopsin. Resonance Raman spectroscopy of the mutants D85N and D85A.

The bacteriorhodopsin (bR) mutants Asp-85-->Asn (D85N) and Asp-85-->Ala (D85A) have a red-shifted chromophore absorption and exhibit no proton pumping (Otto, H., Marti, T., Holz, M., Mogi, T., Stern, L., Engel, F., Khorana, H. G., and Heyn, M. P. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 1018-1022) consistent with the hypothesis that Asp-85 functions as a counterion and proton acceptor for the retinal Schiff base (Braiman, M. S., Mogi, T., Marti, T., Stern, L. J., Khorana, H. G., and Rothschild, K. J. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 8516-8520). Resonance Raman spectroscopy reveals that these mutants contain a mixture of all-trans and 13-cis/C = N syn chromophores, similar to dark-adapted purple membrane and acid-induced or deionized blue membrane. At high NaCl concentrations, both mutants adopt a predominantly all-trans chromophore structure similar to acid purple membrane. A comparison of the Schiff base C = NH+ stretch frequency (vC = N) and deuterium isotope shift for D85N, D85A as well as various forms of bR, including light-adapted bR, blue membrane, and acid purple membrane, provides information about hydrogen bonding interactions to the Schiff base. D85N has as strong a hydrogen bond as light-adapted bR despite the loss of the negative charge at residue 85. In contrast, D85A has a weaker hydrogen bond. These results can be explained if a direct interaction exists between the Schiff base and Asn-85 in D85N and between the Schiff base and a substituted water molecule in D85A. Many of the properties of wild type bR, D85N, D85A, blue membrane, and acid purple membrane can be explained on the basis of changes in the local hydrogen bonding near the Schiff base.