Molecular crowding differentially regulates magnetic field-dependent fluorescence, recovery kinetics, and photostability of the magnetosensitive protein MagLOV2

In MagLOV2-overexpressing Escherichia coli lysate at 22 mT, different crowders shift the magnetic field effect and photostability differently, including PEG3350’s mild enhancement at high concentration.

• Why it matters: Crowding and solvent composition can change protein behavior and flavin photophysics, but how these factors modulate magnetically sensitive flavoproteins is unclear.
• What they did: Using a custom high-intensity magnetofluorescence setup, seven molecular environments were tested across five-point concentration series under continuous 6.12 W/cm2 blue light, measuring fluorescence, OFF-recovery kinetics, and pre-field photobleaching in 105 treatment cuvettes.
• The result: Dextran 70, Ficoll PM70, and PEG6000 attenuated negative MFE, while PEG3350 shifted toward mild enhancement; glycerol and ethylene glycol strengthened negative MFE but slowed OFF-recovery, and MFE change was not correlated with OFF-recovery (r = -0.07, p = 0.449).

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