Spectral and structural comparison between bright and dim green fluorescent proteins in Amphioxus

The cephalochordate Amphioxus naturally co-expresses fluorescent proteins (FPs) with different brightness, which thus offers the rare opportunity to identify FP molecular feature/s that are associated with greater/lower intensity of fluorescence. Here, we describe the spectral and structural characteristics of green FP (bfloGFPa1) with perfect (100%) quantum efficiency yielding to unprecedentedly-high brightness, and compare them to those of co-expressed bfloGFPc1 showing extremely-dim brightness due to low (0.1%) quantum efficiency. This direct comparison of structure-function relationship indicated that in the bright bfloGFPa1, a Tyrosine (Tyr159) promotes a ring flipping of a Tryptophan (Trp157) that in turn allows a cis-trans transformation of a Proline (Pro55). Consequently, the FP chromophore is pushed up, which comes with a slight tilt and increased stability. FPs are continuously engineered for improved biochemical and/or photonic properties, and this study provides new insight to the challenge of establishing a clear mechanistic understanding between chromophore structural environment and brightness level.