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Proton-Pumping Microbial Rhodopsins – Ubiquitous Structurally Simple Helpers of Respiration and Photosynthesis

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The Structural Basis of Biological Energy Generation

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 39))

Summary

For almost four decades, bacteriorhodopsin has served as a classic example of the simplest standalone proton gradient generator. Bacteriorhodopsin-based bioenergetics was viewed as the most basic type of photosynthesis, becoming useful under limiting oxygen conditions only in a small group of extremophilic haloarchaea. With the advent of genomic and metagenomic high-throughput sequencing, the taxonomic and ecological diversity of bacteriorhodopsin-related proteins (microbial rhodopsins) appeared to be large. In this chapter, we survey structural and taxonomic diversity of proton-pumping microbial rhodopsins, describing haloarchaeal, fungal, algal, and eubacterial representatives, including those in photosynthetic organisms. Comparison of both primary and 3-D structures is made, and common structural trends are pointed out. Finally, we outline the main structural blocks involved in light-driven proton-transport mechanism, and discuss its conserved and variable parts.

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Abbreviations

ACR-2:

– Acetabularia rhodopsin-2;

AR:

– Archaerhodopsin;

BR:

– Bacteriorhodopsin;

GPR:

– Green-absorbing proteorhodopsin;

GR:

– Gloeobacter rhodopsin;

PR:

– Proteorhodopsin;

RD:

– Rhodopsin;

TM:

– Transmembrane;

XR:

– Xanthorhodopsin

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the University of Guelph.

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  1. Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Leonid S. Brown

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  1. Department of Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag Fylke, Norway

    Martin F. Hohmann-Marriott

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Brown, L.S. (2014). Proton-Pumping Microbial Rhodopsins – Ubiquitous Structurally Simple Helpers of Respiration and Photosynthesis. In: Hohmann-Marriott, M. (eds) The Structural Basis of Biological Energy Generation. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 39. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8742-0_1

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