Collaborative Research: Combining Theory and Experiment to Understand the First Photophysical Events in the Photoactivation of the Orange Carotenoid Protein

合作研究：理论与实验相结合，了解橙色类胡萝卜素蛋白光活化中的首次光物理事件

• 批准号: 2203577
• 负责人: Warren Beck
• 金额: $ 30.9万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2203577&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Combining; Theory; Experiment

With the support of the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division, Professor José Gascón from University of Connecticut (UConn) and Professor Warren F. Beck from Michigan State University will investigate the mechanisms that cyanobacteria employ to protect themselves from damage due to excessive exposure to sunlight. This project will determine how a ketocarotenoid bound to the orange carotenoid protein (OCP) serves as a sensor for the light intensity and color. The main goal is to determine the photophysical mechanism that converts the OCP from a resting, orange form (OCPO) to an active, red form (OCPR); this conversion protects the organism during high intensity solar illumination by slowing the rate of photosynthetic energy storage. The work will provide insight in how the components in the photosynthetic apparatus of cyanobacteria and green plants work together to store solar energy in molecular form and to avoid light-driven side reactions that cause damage. The new knowledge could impact the design and engineering of materials that can be used in solar energy applications. The research will afford an excellent opportunity for graduate students involved to learn advanced computer modeling and spectroscopy techniques and their application to advanced studies of molecular structure and function. In addition, the project will create research opportunities for high school students from the School of Exploratory Chemical Research and Training (SECRET) and undergraduate students who participate in the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site in Chemistry at UConn.The planned research involves a combination of state-of-the-art femtosecond multidimensional electronic spectroscopy and ultrasensitive fluorescence methods to sense the conformational changes that the ketocarotenoid undergoes in OCPO when it absorbs blue-green light. Electronic structure calculations and molecular dynamics simulations will then be used to develop a molecular model for the first structural events that follow photoexcitation of the ketocarotenoid. The research plan will test the hypothesis that light-driven conformational changes of the ketocarotenoid initiate the structural reorganization of the protein. These studies are expected to provide molecular details of how the ketocarotenoid senses ambient solar illumination.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在化学过程的化学过程中的支持下，康涅狄格大学（UCONN）的JoséGascón教授和密歇根州立大学的Warren F. Beck教授将调查氰基细菌员工的机制，以保护自己免受因阳光过度暴露而造成的伤害。该项目将确定与橙色类胡萝卜素蛋白（OCP）结合的酮类豆样式如何用作光强度和颜色的传感器。主要目标是确定将OCP从静止的橙色形式（OCPO）转换为主动的红色形式（OCPR）的光物理机制；这种转换通过减慢光同步能量存储的速度来保护高强度太阳照明期间的组织。这项工作将提供有关蓝细菌和绿色植物的光同步设备中的组件如何共同努力以分子形式存储太阳能并避免造成损坏的光驱动侧反应。新知识可能会影响可用于太阳能应用的材料的设计和工程。这项研究将为参与研究生学习高级计算机建模和光谱技术及其应用于分子结构和功能的高级研究的绝佳机会。此外，该项目将为来自UCONN的化学研究所的NSF资助的本科生（REU）网站参加NSF资助的研究经验的探索性化学研究与培训学院（秘密）和本科生创造研究机会。当酮类豆激素吸收蓝绿色的光时，酮car素会在OCPO中经历。然后，将使用电子结构计算和分子动力学模拟来开发一个分子模型，用于遵循酮类凝集素的光激发的第一个结构事件。研究计划将检验以下假设：酮to骨的光驱动构象变化启动蛋白质的结构重组。预计这些研究将提供分子细节，说明如何使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，通过评估来反映NSF的法定任务，这反映了NSF的法定任务。