Project B3 has published two new papers in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B about channel-rhodopsins, which are light-activated membrane proteins that transport ions across cell membranes. In Schubert et al., IGK members Luiz Schubert and Jheng-Liang Chen alongside PIs Joachim Heberle (B3/A1), Ville Kaila (Mercator Fellow), and Ramona Schlesinger (project B4) aim to understand vectorial ion transport. Using time-resolved IR spectroscopy in combination with molecular dynamics, they investigated the protonation pathway of the inward-directed proton pump xenorhodopsin from Nanosalina sp (NsXeR). Their findings suggest that residue D220 assists with mediating proton release, and is not the primary proton acceptor for protons transiently released by the retinal Schiff base. 

In Saliminasab et al., they investigate a new instance of convergent evolution within sensory rhodopsins, a phenomona where unrelated or very distant protein groups display the same function.