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Interactions of bacteriorhodopsin-containing membrane systems with polyelectrolytes

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Summary

The interaction of purple membranes and bacteriorhodopsin-containing phospholipid vesicles with diethyl aminoethyl (DEAE)-dextran and dextran sulfate was investigated. Between pH 1 and pH 7, DEAE-dextran at low concentrations caused aggregation in both membrane systems; at higher concentrations these aggregates disappeared again, probably due to a reversal of net membrane charge. Dextran sulfate did not aggregate the membrane systems at any concentration tested; it rather prevented the aggregation normally occurring at low pH. The effects of the polyelectrolytes on the pH-dependent formation of the 605-nm chromophore were studied in both membrane systems. In purple membrane, DEAE-dextran and dextran sulfate caused shifts in the pH-curves corresponding to changes in local surface potential of +90 mV and −10 mV, respectively. Qualitatively comparable, although smaller changes were observed in bR-containing vesicles. We propose that in vesicular preparations the effect of charged polymers on the potential profile may be limited to the external membrane surface; in that case, our results are consistent with a location of the chromophore close to the cytoplasmic surface.

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Author notes

  1. Tilly Bakker-Grunwald

    Present address: Fachbereich Mikrobiologie, Universität Osnabrück, Postfach 4469, D-4500, Osnabrück, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Ernährungsphysiologie, Rheinlanddamm 201, D-4600, Dortmund, Germany

    Tilly Bakker-Grunwald & Benno Hess

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  1. Tilly Bakker-Grunwald
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  2. Benno Hess
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Bakker-Grunwald, T., Hess, B. Interactions of bacteriorhodopsin-containing membrane systems with polyelectrolytes. J. Membrain Biol. 60, 45–49 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01870831

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01870831

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