Category Ranking
98%
Total Visits
921
Avg Visit Duration
2 minutes
Citations
20
Article Abstract
Microbial rhodopsins are widely distributed in the aqua-ecosystem due to their simple structure and multifaceted functions. Conventionally, microbial rhodopsins are considered to be exclusively light active. Here, we report the discovery of light-independent function of a proteorhodopsin from a psychrophile (ptqPR). ptqPR could improve the growth and viability of cells under stressful conditions in the absence of light, and this was achieved by improving the energy maintenance, membrane potential, membrane fluidity, and membrane integrity. We further show that this non-canonical function of PR is related to its scramblase activity. PR mutants which lost scramblase activities also lost their ability to confer physiological advantages in . . These findings shed light on why microbial rhodopsins are widely distributed in ecological systems where light is inaccessible.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10730872 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.108551 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Structural insights into retinal-free microbial rhodopsins.
Structure
September 2025
HIT Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Science and Technology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; Frontiers Science Center for Matter Behave in Space Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China. Electronic address:
Rhodopsins typically harness light energy through the covalently bound retinal cofactor. However, some rhodopsins have lost this ability during evolution. In this issue of Structure, Kovalev et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarotenoids bind rhodopsins and act as photocycle-accelerating pigments in marine Bacteroidota.
Nat Microbiol
September 2025
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan.
Microbial rhodopsins are photoreceptor proteins widely distributed in marine microorganisms that harness light energy and support marine ecosystems. While retinal is typically the sole chromophore in microbial rhodopsins, some proteorhodopsins, which are proton-pumping rhodopsins abundant in the ocean, use carotenoid antennae to transfer light energy to retinal. However, the mechanism by which carotenoids enhance rhodopsin functions remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpsins are Phospholipid Scramblases in All Domains of Life.
bioRxiv
August 2025
Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706.
Opsins are highly abundant retinal proteins in the membranes of photoheterotrophic bacteria. However, some microbial genomes encode an but lack the gene for the final enzyme in retinal synthesis. To account for this paradox, we hypothesized that bacterial opsins play a role in membrane structure and/or biogenesis independent from their potential for light-driven signaling or proton pumping.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrigin of the red-shifted absorption maximum in channelrhodopsin Chrimson.
Chem Commun (Camb)
August 2025
Fritz Haber Center for Molecular Dynamics Research, Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel.
Chrimson is a naturally occurring channelrhodopsin with one of the most red-shifted absorption maxima ( = 590 nm). This unique absorption makes it an ideal candidate for noninvasive optogenetic applications. The origin of the absorption maximum is thought to stem from a single deprotonated counterion near the Schiff base.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffect of Cultivation Conditions on the Expression of the Proteorhodopsin Gene.
Biochemistry (Mosc)
July 2025
Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117997, Russia.
Recombinant proteorhodopsin ESR of the gram-positive bacterium isolated from permafrost deposits in northeastern Siberia binds retinal and acts as a light-dependent proton pump, but not much is known about its expression under natural conditions. In this work, expression of the gene in cultures grown under various conditions was studied by quantitative PCR. It has been discovered that cultivation on poor media at low temperatures contributes to a significant increase in the content of the corresponding mRNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF