Isoform diversity, regulation, and functional adaptation of troponin and calponin.

Actin-activated myosin II motor function powers muscle contraction and nonmuscle cell motility. The actin-myosin-derived contractility has evolved with a great diversity in different muscle and cell types. Actin filament-based regulation controls striated muscle contraction and plays a role in modulating smooth muscle contractility and nonmuscle cell motility.

Determination of the rate and yield of B-side quinone reduction in Rhodobacter capsulatus reaction centers.

In the native purple bacterial reaction center (RC), light-driven charge separation utilizes only the A-side cofactors, with the symmetry related B-side inactive. The process is initiated by electron transfer from the excited primary donor (P*) to the A-side bacteriopheophytin (P* --> P+ H(A)-) in approximately 3 ps. This is followed by electron transfer to the A-side quinone (P+ H(A)- --> P+ Q(A)-) in approximately 200 ps, with an overall quantum yield of approximately 100%.

Probing the contribution of electronic coupling to the directionality of electron transfer in photosynthetic reaction centers.

Subpicosecond transient absorption studies are reported for a set of Rhodobacter (R.) capsulatus bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) designed to probe the origins of the unidirectionality of charge separation via one of two electron transport chains in the native pigment-protein complex. All of the RCs have been engineered to contain a heterodimeric primary electron donor (D) consisting of a bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) and a bacteriopheophytin (BPh).

Construction and characterization of genetically modified synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 photosystem II core complexes containing carotenoids with shorter pi-conjugation than beta-carotene.

Beta-carotene has been identified as an intermediate in a secondary electron transfer pathway that oxidizes Chl(Z) and cytochrome b(559) in Photosystem II (PS II) when normal tyrosine oxidation is blocked. To test the redox function of carotenoids in this pathway, we replaced the zeta-carotene desaturase gene (zds) or both the zds and phytoene desaturase (pds) genes of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 with the phytoene desaturase gene (crtI) of Rhodobacter capsulatus, producing carotenoids with shorter conjugated pi-electron systems and higher reduction potentials than beta-carotene.

Origin of the F685 and F695 fluorescence in photosystem II.

The emission spectra of CP47-RC and core complexes of Photosystem II (PS II) were measured at different temperatures and excitation wavelengths in order to establish the origin of the emission and the role of the core antenna in the energy transfer and charge separation processes in PS II. Both types of particles reveal strong dependences of spectral shape and yield on temperature. The results indicate that the well-known F-695 emission at 77 K arises from excitations that are trapped on a red-absorbing CP47 chlorophyll, whereas the F-685 nm emission at 77 K arises from excitations that are transferred slowly from 683 nm states in CP47 and CP43 to the RC, where they are trapped by charge separation.

Biochemical and biophysical characterization of photosystem I from phytoene desaturase and zeta-carotene desaturase deletion mutants of Synechocystis Sp. PCC 6803: evidence for PsaA- and PsaB-side electron transport in cyanobacteria.

In photosystem I, oxidation of reduced acceptor A(1)(-) through iron-sulfur cluster F(X) is biphasic with half-times of approximately 5-30 ns ("fast" phase) and approximately 150-300 ns ("slow" phase). Whether these biphasic kinetics reflect unidirectional electron transfer, involving only the PsaA-side phylloquinone or bi-directional electron transfer, involving both the PsaA- and PsaB-side phylloquinones, has been the source of some controversy. Brettel (Brettel, K.