A RESONANCE RAMAN STUDY OF OCTOPUS BATHORHODOPSIN WITH DEUTERIUM LABELED RETINAL CHROMOPHORES *

Abstract– The resonance Raman spectrum of octopus bathorhodopsin in the fingerprint region and in the ethylenic‐Schiff base region have been obtained at 80 K using the “pump‐probe” technique as have its deuterated chromophore analogues at the C7D; C8D; C7, C8D2; C10D; C11,D; C11, C12D2; C14D; C15D; C14, C15D2; and N16D positions. While these data are not sufficient to make definitive band assignments, many tentative assignments can be made. Because of the close spectral similarity between the octopus bathorhodopsin spectrum and that of bovine bathorhodopsin, we conclude that the essential configuration of octopus bathorhodopsin's chromophore is all‐trans like. The data suggest that the Schiff base, C=N, configuration is trans (and). The observed conformationaly sensitive fingerprint bands show pronounced isotope shifts upon chromophore deuteration. The size of the shifts differ, in certain cases, from those found for bovine bathorhodopsin. Thus, the internal mode composition of the fingerprint bands differs somewhat from bovine bathorhodopsin, suggesting a somewhat different in situ chromophore conformation. An analysis of the NH bend frequency, the Schiff base C=N stretch frequency, and its shift upon Schiff base deuteration suggests that the hydrogen bonding between the protonated Schiff base with its protein binding pocket is weaker in octopus bathorhodopsin than in bovine bathorhodopsin but stronger than that found in bacteriorhodop‐sin's bR568 pigment.