2014
Kinetics of Thermal Activation of an Ultraviolet Cone Pigment
Mooney V, Sekharan S, Liu J, Guo Y, Batista V, Yan E. Kinetics of Thermal Activation of an Ultraviolet Cone Pigment. Journal Of The American Chemical Society 2014, 137: 307-313. PMID: 25514632, DOI: 10.1021/ja510553f.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTransmembrane helix 6UV pigmentsUnprotonated Schiff baseVisual pigmentsCone pigmentsDim-light visionExtracellular loop 2Vertebrate visual pigmentsMolecular evolutionUltraviolet pigmentsOpsin proteinHelix 6Retinyl chromophoreLoop 2UV cone pigmentBovine rhodopsinRod pigmentRhodopsinHydrogen bonding networkSalt bridgeIonone ringPigmentsSchiff base chromophoreSteric restraintsActivation
2013
Spectral Tuning of Ultraviolet Cone Pigments: An Interhelical Lock Mechanism
Sekharan S, Mooney V, Rivalta I, Kazmi M, Neitz M, Neitz J, Sakmar T, Yan E, Batista V. Spectral Tuning of Ultraviolet Cone Pigments: An Interhelical Lock Mechanism. Journal Of The American Chemical Society 2013, 135: 19064-19067. PMID: 24295328, PMCID: PMC4536979, DOI: 10.1021/ja409896y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsUV pigmentsCone pigmentsSpectral tuningActivation of rhodopsinAncestral pigmentMolecular evolutionVertebrate visionMutagenesis studiesPhotoreceptor rhodopsinMolecular levelStructural rearrangementsUnprotonated Schiff baseTransmembraneTM6PigmentsRhodopsinMutationsEssential componentRetinyl chromophoreHydrogen bonding networkMutantsTM2Structural modelPhysiologicalRearrangementSpectral Tuning in Halorhodopsin: The Chloride Pump Photoreceptor
Pal R, Sekharan S, Batista V. Spectral Tuning in Halorhodopsin: The Chloride Pump Photoreceptor. Journal Of The American Chemical Society 2013, 135: 9624-9627. PMID: 23777372, DOI: 10.1021/ja404600z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsKey amino acid residuesIon translocation pathwayAmino acid residuesSpectral tuningInternal water moleculesTranslocation pathwaySpecific hydrogen bondsHalobacterium salinarumAcid residuesMolecular levelStructural rearrangementsAnion transportCl depletionPhotoreceptorsInduces changesHalorhodopsinRetinyl chromophoreSalinarumMutationsResiduesPathwayFirst time
2007
The MP/SOFT methodology for simulations of quantum dynamics: Model study of the photoisomerization of the retinyl chromophore in visual rhodopsin
Chen X, Batista V. The MP/SOFT methodology for simulations of quantum dynamics: Model study of the photoisomerization of the retinyl chromophore in visual rhodopsin. Journal Of Photochemistry And Photobiology A Chemistry 2007, 190: 274-282. DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2007.05.015.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchNonadiabatic quantum dynamicsQuantum dynamicsNonadiabatic dynamicsMixed quantum-classical approachTime-dependent Schrödinger equationComplex quantum dynamicsQuantum-classical approachResonance Raman excitationMultichannel time-dependent Schrödinger equationExcited-state gradientsPotential energy surfaceRetinyl chromophoreNuclear wavepacketsRaman excitationPolyatomic systemsEnergy surfaceModel HamiltonianSchrödinger equationTrans photoisomerizationMultidimensional systems
2006
Computational Studies of the Primary Phototransduction Event in Visual Rhodopsin
Gascón J, Sproviero E, Batista V. Computational Studies of the Primary Phototransduction Event in Visual Rhodopsin. Accounts Of Chemical Research 2006, 39: 184-193. PMID: 16548507, DOI: 10.1021/ar050027t.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsG protein-coupled receptorsRecent computational studiesPrimary photochemical eventQuantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) hybrid methodsComputational studyPhotochemical eventsEnergy storage mechanismPrototypical G protein-coupled receptorX-ray structureVisual rhodopsinHigh-resolution X-ray structuresBovine visual rhodopsinWater moleculesSpectroscopic changesRetinyl chromophoreStorage mechanismActive siteMolecular rearrangementTrans isomerizationPhototransduction eventsMolecular originIndividual residuesStructural refinementPhototransduction mechanismChromophore
2005
QM/MM Study of the NMR Spectroscopy of the Retinyl Chromophore in Visual Rhodopsin
Gascón J, Sproviero E, Batista V. QM/MM Study of the NMR Spectroscopy of the Retinyl Chromophore in Visual Rhodopsin. Journal Of Chemical Theory And Computation 2005, 1: 674-685. PMID: 26641690, DOI: 10.1021/ct0500850.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) methodQuantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) hybrid methodsSolid-state NMR experimentsQM/MM studyDensity functional theory B3LYP/6Nuclear magnetic resonance spectraNMR chemical shiftsFirst-principles interpretationLevel of theoryMagnetic resonance spectraAtomic orbitals methodNMR spectroscopyChemical shiftsMM studyNMR experimentsRetinyl chromophoreAb initioOrbital methodResonance spectraAtomistic modelVisual rhodopsinChromophoreField calculationsPrototypical G protein-coupled receptorB3LYP/6