Probing the Hydrogen Bonding Structure in the Rieske Protein

The use of the far-infrared spectral range presents a novel approach for analysis of the hydrogen bonding in proteins. Here it is presented for the analysis of Fe S vibrations (500-200 cm(-1)) and of the intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding signature (300-50 cm(-1)) in the Rieske protein from Thermus thermophilus as a function of temperature and pH. Three pH values were adequately chosen in order to study all the possible protonation states of the coordinating histidines. The Fe S vibrations showed pH-dependent shifts in the FIR spectra in line with the change of protonation state of the histidines coordinating the [2Fe-2S] cluster. Measurements of the low-frequency signals between 300 and 30 K demonstrated the presence of a distinct overall hydrogen bonding network and a more rigid structure for a pH higher than 10. To further support the analysis, the redox-dependent shifts of the secondary structure were investigated by means of an electrochemically induced FTIR difference spectroscopic approach in the mid infrared. The results confirmed a clear pH dependency and an influence of the immediate environment of the cluster on the secondary structure. The results support the hypothesis that structure-mediated changes in the environment of iron sulfur centers play a critical role in regulating enzymatic catalysis. The data point towards the role of the overall internal hydrogen bonding organization for the geometry and the electronic properties of the cluster.