Abstract
Sensory rhodopsin II (NpSRII) is a phototaxis receptor of Natronomonas pharaonis that performs its function in complex with its cognate transducer (NpHtrII). Upon light activation NpSRII triggers by means of NpHtrII a signal transduction chain homologous to the two component system in eubacterial chemotaxis. The D75N mutant of NpSRII, which lacks the blue-shifted M intermediate and therefore exhibits a significantly faster photocycle compared to the wild-type, mediates normal phototaxis responses demonstrating that deprotonation of the Schiff base is not a prerequisite for transducer activation. Using site-directed spin labeling and time resolved electron paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy, we show that the mechanism revealed for activation of the wild-type complex, namely an outward tilt motion of the cytoplasmic part of the receptor helix F and a concomitant rotation of the transmembrane transducer helix TM2, is also valid for the D75N variant. Apparently, the D75N mutation shifts the ground state conformation of NpSRII-D75N and its cognate transducer into the direction of the signaling state.