The maturation process of green fluorescent protein (GFP) entails a protein oxidation reaction triggered by spontaneous backbone condensation. The chromophore is generated by full conjugation of the Tyr66 phenolic group with the heterocycle, a process that requires C-H bond scission at the benzylic carbon. We have prepared isotope-enriched protein bearing tyrosine residues deuterated at the beta carbon, and have determined kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) on the GFP self-processing reaction. Progress curves for the production of H 2 O 2 and the mature chromophore were analyzed by global curve fitting to a three-step mechanism describing pre-oxidation, oxidation and post-oxidation events. Although a KIE for protein oxidation could not be discerned (k H /k D = 1.1 ± 0.2), a full primary KIE of 5.9 (± 2.8) was extracted for the post-oxidation step. Therefore, the exocyclic carbon is not involved in the reduction of molecular oxygen. Rather, C-H bond cleavage proceeds from the oxidized cyclic imine form, and is the rate-limiting event of the final step. Substantial pH-dependence of maturation was observed upon substitution of the catalytic glutamate (E222Q), indicating an apparent pK a of 9.4 (± 0.1) for the base catalyst. For this variant, a KIE of 5.8 (± 0.4) was determined for the intrinsic time constant that is thought to describe the final step, as supported by ultra-high resolution mass spectrometric results. The data are consistent with general base catalysis of the postoxidation events yielding green color. Structural arguments suggest a mechanism in which the highly conserved Arg96 serves as catalytic base in proton abstraction from the Tyr66-derived beta carbon. KeywordsProtein maturation; chromophore biosynthesis; fluorescent proteins; KIE; deuterium isotope effect; general base catalysis; arginine as catalyst In recent years, the post-translational modifications yielding for the colorful chromophores of GFP-like proteins have been studied extensively (1,2). Members of the family of fluorescent proteins are evolutionarily related to its founding member avGFP from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria (3), and are generally found in marine organisms such as reef-building corals. Fluorescent proteins (FPs) have attracted considerable interest, due to their ability to synthesize brightly fluorescing entities from intrinsic amino acid residues, such that the intense coloration of the mature protein appears to be an inherent property of the particular genetic sequence. The interior of the eleven-stranded β-barrel of FPs contains a helical peptide that spans residues 60 † This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF MCB-0615938) and a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH RO3-EB006413) to R. M. W. NSF Grant CHE-0131222 provided funds to purchase the MALDI instrument. * Author Contact Information: email rwachter@asu.edu, phone 480-965-8188, fax 480-965-2747. NIH Public Access -71 in avGFP, with position 66 occupied by a conserved tyrosine and 67 by a conserved glyci...

The crystal structure of the cyan-fluorescent Cerulean green fluorescent protein (GFP), a variant of enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP), has been determined to 2.0 A. Cerulean bears an internal fluorophore composed of an indole moiety derived from Y66W, conjugated to the GFP-like imidazolinone ring via a methylene bridge. Cerulean undergoes highly efficient fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to yellow acceptor molecules and exhibits significantly reduced excited-state heterogeneity. This feature was rationally engineered in ECFP by substituting His148 with an aspartic acid [Rizzo et al. (2004) Nat. Biotechnol. 22, 445], rendering Cerulean useful for fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). The X-ray structure is consistent with a single conformation of the chromophore and surrounding residues and may therefore provide a structural rationale for the previously described monoexponential fluorescence decay. Unexpectedly, the carboxyl group of H148D is found in a buried position, directly contacting the indole nitrogen of the chromophore via a bifurcated hydrogen bond. Compared to the similarly constructed ECFP chromophore, the indole group of Cerulean is rotated around the methylene bridge to adopt a cis-coplanar conformation with respect to the imidazolinone ring, resulting in a close edge-to-edge contact of the two ring systems. The double-humped absorbance spectrum persists in single-crystal absorbance measurements, casting doubt on the idea that ground state conformational heterogeneity forms the basis of the two overlapping transitions. At low pH, a blue shift in absorbance of 10-15 nm suggests a pH-induced structural transition that proceeds with a time constant of 47 (+/-2) min and is reversible. Possible interpretations in terms of chromophore isomerization are presented.