Protein Structure Alteration Induced by Light-Activated Water Absorption. A Study with Bacteriorhodopsin

摘要

Water is a crucial component in determining the structure of proteins. Nonetheless, it has been difficult to address the problem of the role of water in protein structure in terms of both experiments and theory. Therefore, the general understandings that have been developed concerning the structure of proteins have emphasized the sequence of ammo acids as the sole determinant in the structure of proteins. In this paper the development of a system is reported in which light regulates the amount of water that is absorbed by a protein structure.