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PubMed1998

Tryptophan-136 in subunit II of cytochrome bo3 from Escherichia coli may participate in the binding of ubiquinol.

In the cytochrome c oxidases, the role of subunit II is to provide the electron entry site into the enzyme. This subunit contains both the binding site for the substrate, cytochrome c, and the CuA redox center, which is initially reduced by cytochrome c. Cytochrome bo3 and other quinol oxidases that are members of the heme-copper oxidase superfamily have a homologous subunit II, but the CuA site is absent, as is the docking site for cytochrome c. Speculation that subunit II in the quinol oxidases may also be important as an electron entry site is supported by the demonstration several years ago that a photoreactive substrate analogue, azido-Q, covalently labeled subunit II in cytochrome bo3. In the current work, a sequence alignment of subunit II of heme-copper quinol oxidases is used as a guide to select conserved residues that might be important for the binding of ubiquinol to cytochrome bo3. Results are presented for point mutants in 24 different residue positions in subunit II. The membrane-bound enzymes were examined by optical spectroscopy and by determining the activity of ubiquinol-1 oxidase. In each case, the Km for ubiquinol-1 was determined as a measure of possible perturbation to a quinol binding site. The only mutant that had a noticeably altered Km for ubiquinol-1 was W136A, in which the Km was about sixfold increased. Thus, W136 may be at or close to a substrate (ubiquinol)-binding site in cytochrome bo3. In the cytochrome c oxidases, the equivalent tryptophan (W121 in Paracoccus denitrificans) has been identified as the "electron entry site".

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Glutamate-89 in subunit II of cytochrome bo3 from Escherichia coli is required for the function of the heme-copper oxidase.

Recent electrostatics calculations on the cytochrome c oxidase from Paracoccus denitrificans revealed an unexpected coupling between the redox state of the heme-copper center and the state of protonation of a glutamic acid (E78II) that is 25 A away in subunit II of the oxidase. Examination of more than 300 sequences of the homologous subunit in other heme-copper oxidases shows that this residue is virtually totally conserved and is in a cluster of very highly conserved residues at the "negative" end (bacterial cytoplasm or mitochondrial matrix) of the second transmembrane helix. The functional importance of several residues in this cluster (E89II, W93II, T94II, and P96II) was examined by site-directed mutagenesis of the corresponding region of the cytochrome bo(3) quinol oxidase from Escherichia coli (where E89II is the equivalent of residue E78II of the P. denitrificans oxidase). Substitution of E89II with either alanine or glutamine resulted in reducing the rate of turnover to about 43 or 10% of the wild-type value, respectively, whereas E89D has only about 60% of the activity of the control oxidase. The quinol oxidase activity of the W93V mutant is also reduced to about 30% of that of the wild-type oxidase. Spectroscopic studies with the purified E89A and E89Q mutants indicate no perturbation of the heme-copper center. The data suggest that E89II (E. coli numbering) is critical for the function of the heme copper oxidases. The proximity to K362 suggests that this glutamic acid residue may regulate proton entry or transit through the K-channel. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the degree of oxidation of the low-spin heme b is greater in the steady state using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant in place of dioxygen for the E89Q mutant. Thus, it appears that the inhibition resulting from the E89II mutation is due to a block in the reduction of the heme-copper binuclear center, expected for K-channel mutants.

Alanine↗
PubMed2000

Mutations in the putative H-channel in the cytochrome c oxidase from Rhodobacter sphaeroides show that this channel is not important for proton conduction but reveal modulation of the properties of heme a.

As the final electron acceptor in the respiratory chain of eukaryotic and many prokaryotic organisms, cytochrome c oxidase catalyzes the reduction of oxygen to water, concomitantly generating a proton gradient. X-ray structures of two cytochrome c oxidases have been reported, and in each structure three possible pathways for proton translocation are indicated: the D-, K-, and H-channels. The putative H-channel is most clearly delineated in the bovine heart oxidase and has been proposed to be functionally important for the translocation of pumped protons in the mammalian oxidase [Yoshikawa et al. (1998) Science 280, 1723-1729]. In the present work, the functional importance of residues lining the putative H-channel in the oxidase from Rhodobacter sphaeroides are examined by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutants were generated in eight different sites and the enzymes have been purified and characterized. The results suggest that the H-channel is not functionally important in the prokaryotic oxidase, in agreement with the conclusion from previous work with the oxidase from Paracoccus denitrificans [Pfitzner et al. (1998) J. Biomembr. Bioenerg. 30, 89-93]. Each of the mutants in R. sphaeroides, with an exception at only one position, is enzymatically active and pumps protons in reconstituted proteoliposomes. This includes H456A, where in the P. denitrificans oxidase a leucine residue substituted for the corresponding residue resulted in inactive enzyme. The only mutations that result in completely inactive enzyme in the set examined in the R. sphaeroides oxidase are in R52, a residue that, along with Q471, appears to be hydrogen-bonded to the formyl group of heme a in the X-ray structures. To characterize the interactions between this residue and the heme group, resonance Raman spectra of the R52 mutants were obtained. The frequency of the heme a formyl stretching mode in the R52A mutant is characteristic of that seen in non-hydrogen-bonded model heme a complexes. Thus the data confirm the presence of hydrogen bonding between the heme a formyl group and the R52 side chain, as suggested from crystallographic data. In the R52K mutant, this hydrogen bonding is maintained by the lysine residue, and this mutant enzyme retains near wild-type activity. The heme a formyl frequency is also affected by mutation of Q471, confirming the X-ray models that show this residue also has hydrogen-bonding interactions with the formyl group. Unlike R52, however, Q471 does not appear to be critical for the enzyme function.

Alanine↗
PubMed2000

Specific mutagenesis of the rieske iron-sulfur protein in Rhodobacter sphaeroides shows that both the thermodynamic gradient and the pK of the oxidized form determine the rate of quinol oxidation by the bc(1) complex.

In the Rieske iron-sulfur protein (ISP) of the ubiquinol:cytochrome c(2) oxidoreductase (bc(1) complex) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, residue Tyr 156 is located close to the iron-sulfur cluster. Previous studies of the equivalent residue in both Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Denke, E., Merbitz-Zahradnik, T., Hatzfeld, O. M., Snyder, C. H., Link, T. A., and Trumpower, B. L. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 9085-9093] and Paracoccus denitrificans [Schroter, T., Hatzfeld, O. M., Gemeinhardt, S., Korn, M., Friedrich, T., Ludwig, B. , and Link, T. A. (1998) Eur. J. Biochem. 255, 100-106] have indicated that mutations at this site can lead to modifications in the redox potential of the ISP. To study the effect of similar modifications on the thermodynamic behavior and kinetics of partial reactions of the bc(1) complex upon flash activation, we have constructed four mutant strains of Rb. sphaeroides where Tyr 156 was mutated to His, Leu, Phe, or Trp. The bc(1) complex was assembled and able to support photosynthetic growth in all mutants. Three substitutions (Leu, Phe, Trp) led to alteration of the midpoint potential (E(m)) of the ISP and a slowing in rate of quinol oxidation, suggesting that electron transfer from quinol to the oxidized ISP controls the overall rate and that this step includes the high activation barrier. The Trp mutation led to an increase of approximately 1 pH unit in the pK value of the oxidized ISP. The pH dependence of the rate of quinol oxidation in this mutant was also shifted up by approximately 1 pH unit, showing the importance of the protonation state of the ISP for quinol oxidation. This provides support for a model in which the dissociated form of the oxidized ISP is required for formation of the enzyme-substrate complex [Ugulava, N., and Crofts, A. R. (1998) FEBS Lett. 440, 409-413].

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2000

The caa(3) terminal oxidase of Rhodothermus marinus lacking the key glutamate of the D-channel is a proton pump.

The thermohalophilic bacterium Rhodothermus marinus expresses a caa(3)-type dioxygen reductase as one of its terminal oxidases. The subunit I amino acid sequence shows the presence of all the essential residues of the D- and K-proton channels, defined in most heme-copper oxidases, with the exception of the key glutamate residue located in the middle of the membrane dielectric (E278 in Paracoccus denitrificans). On the basis of homology modeling studies, a tyrosine residue (Y256, R. marinus numbering) has been proposed to act as a functional substitute [Pereira, M. M., Santana, M., Soares, C. M., Mendes, J., Carita, J. N., Fernandes, A. S., Saraste, M., Carrondo, M. A., and Teixeira, M. (1999) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1413, 1-13]. Here, R. marinus caa(3) oxidase was reconstituted in liposomes and shown to operate as a proton pump, translocating protons from the cytoplasmic side of the bacterial inner membrane to the periplasmatic space with a stoichiometry of 1H(+)/e(-), as in the case in heme-copper oxidases that contain the glutamate residue. Possible mechanisms of proton transfer in the D-channel with the participation of the tyrosine residue are discussed. The observation that the tyrosine residue is conserved in several other members of the heme-copper oxidase superfamily suggests a common alternative mode of action for the D-channel.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Kinetic stability of the peroxidase activity of unfolded cytochrome c: heme degradation and catalyst inactivation by hydrogen peroxide.

Unfolding converts Paracoccus versutus cytochrome c-550 into a potent peroxidase (Diederix, R. E. M.; Ubbink, M.; Canters, G. W. ChemBioChem 2002, 3, 110-112). The catalytic activity is accompanied by peroxide-driven inactivation that is prevented, in part, by reducing substrate. Here, the kinetics of inactivation are described, and evidence is presented for the occurrence of a labile intermediate on the catalytic peroxidase pathway of unfolded cytochrome c-550. This intermediate represents a branching point, whereby the protein proceeds along either the productive pathway or self-inactivates. Reducing substrate suppresses inactivation by decreasing the steady-state concentration of the labile intermediate. Inactivation is accompanied by heme degradation. Its chemical reactivity, UV-vis, and EPR properties identify the first intermediate as hydroxyheme-cytochrome c-550, i.e. with heme hydroxylated at one of the heme meso positions. The occurrence of this species argues for the peroxo-iron species in the peroxidase mechanism as the labile intermediate leading to inactivated cytochrome c-550.

Catalysis↗
PubMed2004

Direct immobilization of native yeast iso-1 cytochrome C on bare gold: fast electron relay to redox enzymes and zeptomole protein-film voltammetry.

Cyclic voltammetry shows that yeast iso-1-cytochrome c (YCC), chemisorbed on a bare gold electrode via Cys102, exhibits fast, reversible interfacial electron transfer (k(0) = 1.8 x 10(3) s(-1)) and retains its native functionality. Vectorially immobilized YCC relays electrons to yeast cytochrome c peroxidase, and to both cytochrome cd(1) nitrite reductase (NIR) and nitric oxide reductase from Paracoccus denitrificans, thereby revealing the mechanistic properties of these enzymes. On a microelectrode, we measured nitrite turnover by approximately 80 zmol (49 000 molecules) of NIR, coadsorbed on 0.65 amol (390 000 molecules) of YCC.

Catalysis↗
PubMed1997

Enzyme diversity and mosaic gene organization in denitrification.

Denitrification is a main branch of the global nitrogen cycle. In the past ten years unravelling the underlying biochemistry and genetics has proceeded at an increasing pace. Fungal denitrification has become a new field. The biochemical investigation of denitrification has culminated in the description of the crystal structures of the two types of nitrite reductases. The N2O reductase shares with cytochrome c oxidase the CuA center as a structurally novel metal site. The cytochrome b subunit of NO reductase has a striking conservation of heme-binding transmembrane segments versus the subunit I of cytochrome c oxidase. Another putative denitrification gene product shows structural relation to the subunit III of the oxidase. N2O reductase and NO reductase may be ancestors of energy-conserving enzymes of the heme-copper oxidase superfamily. More than 30 genes for denitrification are located in a > 30-kb cluster in Pseudomonas stutzeri, and comparable gene clusters have been identified in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Paracoccus denitrificans. Genes necessary for nitrite reduction and NO reduction have a mosaic arrangement with very few conserved locations within these clusters and relative to each other.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Optical biosensing of nitric oxide using the metalloprotein cytochrome c'.

The metalloprotein cytochrome c' was extracted and purified from the bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans in order to develop a specific biosensing system for nitric oxide (NO). The metalloprotein was encapsulated in a porous silicate sol-gel glass to enable spectroscopic changes in the haem centre as a function of NO ligation to be quantified using absorption measurements. Spectroscopic evidence suggested that, between 2 and 4 d after encapsulation, the cytochrome c' protein changed conformation in the locality of the haem moiety, possibly from a five to a six coordinate haem centre. Such conformational changes were also observed when the cytochrome c' was stored in solution, although over a 2-3 month period. The conformational changes occurring in the protein altered the spectral characteristics of the reduced, oxidised and nitrosyl complex of the cytochrome c' and appear to change the binding affinity of the protein towards NO. However, the encapsulated (reconformed) cytochrome c' was shown to retain its selectivity towards NO with good reproducibility (seven consecutive measurements of NO produced an intensity value with a relative standard deviation of 0.28%). An NO calibration curve, using the in situ release of NO from the donor diethylamine NONOate, was obtained for the encapsulated cytochrome c' with an approximate working range of 10-400 mumol l-1.

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMed2000

Optical biosensing of nitrite ions using cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase encapsulated in a sol-gel matrix.

Nitrite is an important human health and environmental analyte. As such, the European Union (EU) has imposed a limit for nitrite in potable water of 0.1 mg l-1 (2.18 microM). In order to develop an optical biosensing system for the determination of nitrite ions in environmental waters, cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase has been extracted and purified from the bacterium Paracoccus pantotrophus. The protein has been spectroscopically characterised in solution and important kinetic parameters of nitrite reduction of the cytochrome cd1 enzyme, i.e., Km, Vmax and kcat have been determined. The influence of pH on the activity of the cytochrome cd1 has been investigated and the results suggest that this enzyme can be used for the determination of nitrite in the pH range 6-9. Biosensing experiments with the cytochrome cd1 in solution suggested that the decrease in intensity of the absorption band associated with the d1 haem (which is the nitrite binding site), at 460 nm, with increasing nitrite concentrations would enable the measurement of this analyte with the optimum limit of detection. The cytochrome cd1 has been encapsulated in a bulk sol-gel monolith with no structural changes observed and retention of enzymatic activity. The detection of nitrite ions in the range 0.075-1.250 microM was achieved, with a limit of detection of 0.075 microM. In order to increase the speed of response, a sol-gel sandwich thin film structure was formulated with the cytochrome cd1. This structure enabled the determination of nitrite concentrations within ca. 5 min. The sol-gel sandwich entrapped cytochrome cd1 enzyme was found to be stable for several months when the films were stored at 4 degrees C.

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMed1979

Structural aspects of the dye-linked alcohol dehydrogenase of Rhodopseudomonas acidophila.

1. A dye-linked alcohol dehydrogenase was purified 60-fold from extracts of Rhodopseudomonas acidophila 10050 grown aerobically on ethanol. 2. The properties of this enzyme were identical with those of the alcohol dehydrogenase synthesized by this organism during growth on methanol anaerobically in the light, and they are judged to be the same enzyme. 3. The enzyme gave a single protein band, coincident with alcohol dehydrogenase activity, during electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel. 4. The amino acid composition, ioselectric point, u.v. and visible absorption spectra of the enzyme were determined and compared with those of other similar enzymes. 5. The presence of 0.7--1.0 g-atom of non-haem, acidlabile iron/mol of enzyme was shown by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and colorimetric assay. The iron could not be dissociated from the enzyme by dialysis against chelating agents. 6. E.p.r. spectroscopy of the enzyme did not indicate any redox function for the iron during alcohol dehydrogenation, but showed a signal at g = 2.00 consistent with the presence of a protein-bound organic free radical. 8. Antisera were raised against alcohol (methanol) dehydrogenases purified from Rhodopseudomonas acidophila, Paracoccus denitrificans and Methylophilus methylotrophus. 9. The antiserum to the Rhodopseudomonas acidophila enzyme cross-reacted with neither of the two other antisera, nor with crude extracts of methanol-grown Hyphomicrobium X and Pseudomonas AM1, thus emphasizing its singular biochemical properties.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed2002

Expression of human electron transfer flavoprotein-ubiquinone oxidoreductase from a baculovirus vector: kinetic and spectral characterization of the human protein.

Electron transfer flavoprotein-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (ETF-QO) is an iron-sulphur flavoprotein and a component of an electron-transfer system that links 10 different mitochondrial flavoprotein dehydrogenases to the mitochondrial bc1 complex via electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) and ubiquinone. ETF-QO is an integral membrane protein, and the primary sequences of human and porcine ETF-QO were deduced from the sequences of the cloned cDNAs. We have expressed human ETF-QO in Sf9 insect cells using a baculovirus vector. The cDNA encoding the entire protein, including the mitochondrial targeting sequence, was present in the vector. We isolated a membrane-bound form of the enzyme that has a molecular mass identical with that of the mature porcine protein as determined by SDS/PAGE and has an N-terminal sequence that is identical with that predicted for the mature holoenzyme. These data suggest that the heterologously expressed ETF-QO is targeted to mitochondria and processed to the mature, catalytically active form. The detergent-solubilized protein was purified by ion-exchange and hydroxyapatite chromatography. Absorption and EPR spectroscopy and redox titrations are consistent with the presence of flavin and iron-sulphur centres that are very similar to those in the equivalent porcine and bovine proteins. Additionally, the redox potentials of the two prosthetic groups appear similar to those of the other eukaryotic ETF-QO proteins. The steady-state kinetic constants of human ETF-QO were determined with ubiquinone homologues, a ubiquinone analogue, and with human wild-type ETF and a Paracoccus-human chimaeric ETF as varied substrates. The results demonstrate that this expression system provides sufficient amounts of human ETF-QO to enable crystallization and mechanistic investigations of the iron-sulphur flavoprotein.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The transition between active and de-activated forms of NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) in the mitochondrial membrane of Neurospora crassa.

The mammalian mitochondrial NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) has been shown to exist in two kinetically and structurally distinct slowly interconvertible forms, active (A) and de-activated (D) [Vinogradov and Grivennikova (2001) IUBMB Life 52, 129-134]. This work was undertaken to investigate the putative Complex I A-D transition in the mitochondrial membrane of the lower eukaryote Neurospora crassa and in plasma membrane of the prokaryote Paracoccus denitrificans, organisms that are eligible for molecular genetic manipulations. The potential interconversion between A and D forms was assessed by examination of the initial and steady-state rates of NADH oxidation catalysed by inside-out submitochondrial ( N. crassa ) and sub-bacterial ( P. denitrificans ) particles and their sensitivities to N -ethylmaleimide and Mg(2+). All diagnostic tests provide evidence that slow temperature- and turnover-dependent A-D transition is an explicit feature of eukaryotic N. crassa Complex I, whereas the phenomenon is not seen in the membranes of the prokaryote P. denitrificans. Significantly lower activation energy for A-to-D transition characterizes the N. crassa enzyme compared with that determined previously for the mammalian Complex I. Either a lag or a burst in the onset of the NADH oxidase assayed in the presence of Mg(2+) is seen when the reaction is initiated by the thermally de-activated or NADH-activated particles, whereas the delayed final activities of both preparations are the same. We conclude that continuous slow cycling between A and D forms occurs during the steady-state operation of Complex I in N. crassa mitochondria.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Site-directed modifications indicate differences in axial haem c iron ligation between the related NrfH and NapC families of multihaem c-type cytochromes.

During the last decade, a number of related bacterial membrane-bound multihaem c-type cytochromes, collectively referred to as the NapC/NirT family, were identified. These proteins are generally thought to catalyse electron transport between the quinone/quinol pool and periplasmic oxidoreductases. The best-characterized members, the tetrahaem c-type cytochromes NrfH and NapC, mediate electron transport to NrfA and NapA respectively. Amino acid sequence alignments suggest that the nature and position of distal haem c iron ligands differs in NrfH and NapC proteins. Site-directed modification of potential haem c iron-ligating histidine, lysine and methionine residues in Wolinella succinogenes NrfH was performed to determine the implication in electron transport from formate to nitrite. Two histidine, one lysine and one methionine residues were found to be essential, whereas the replacement of three other conserved histidine residues, one methionine and two lysines did not prevent growth by nitrite respiration. The results contrast those previously obtained for Paracoccus pantotrophus NapC, in which four essential histidine residues have been identified that are highly likely to serve as distal haem c iron ligands. The combined experimental evidence suggests different haem ligation patterns within NapC and NrfH proteins, which might reflect their different functions in the bacterial electron transfer.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1985

The amino acid sequence of the cytochrome c-554(547) from the chemolithotrophic bacterium Thiobacillus neapolitanus.

An amino acid sequence is proposed for the cytochrome c-554(547) from the bacterium Thiobacillus neapolitanus N.C.I.B. 8539). It consists of a polypeptide chain of 91 residues, with a pair of haem-attachment cysteine residues at positions 15 and 18. There is similarity in sequence with each of the halves of the sequence of the dihaem cytochromes c4 and with a cytochrome c-554(548) from a halophilic strain of Paracoccus. Detailed evidence for the amino acid sequence of the protein has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50127 (11 pages) at the British Library (Lending Division), Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies can be obtained on the terms indicated in Biochem. J. (1985) 225, 5.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

The primary structures of Pseudomonas AM1 amicyanin and pseudoazurin. Two new sequence classes of blue copper proteins.

The amino acid sequences of two blue copper proteins from the pink facultative methylotroph Pseudomonas AM1 (N.C.I.B. 9133) were determined. They each consist of a single polypeptide chain and bind one copper atom. Amicyanin contains 99 and pseudoazurin 123 residues. Copper-binding sites, consisting of the side chains of two histidine, one cysteine and one methionine residues, can be recognized in each protein by analogy with azurin and plastocyanin, but the spacings of the ligand residues are different, and other sequence similarity is limited. Proteins that are in the pseudoazurin sequence class can be recognized in some strains of Alcaligenes, and probably also in Paracoccus denitrificans. Detailed evidence for the amino acid sequences of the proteins has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50130 (23 pp.) at the British Library (Lending Division), Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies can be obtained on the terms indicated in Biochem. J. (1985) 225, 5.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Characterization of mutant forms of the quinoprotein methanol dehydrogenase lacking an essential calcium ion.

Methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) from Methylobacterium extorquens, Methylophilus methylotrophus, Paracoccus denitrificans and Hyphomicrobium X all contained a single atom of Ca2+ per alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer. The role of Ca2+ was investigated using the MDH from Methylobacterium extorquens. This was shown to be similar to the MDH from Hyphomicrobium X in having 2 mol of prosthetic group (pyrroloquinoline quinine; PQQ) per mol of tetramer, the PQQ being predominantly in the semiquinone form. MDH isolated from the methanol oxidation mutants MoxA-, K- and L- contained no Ca2+. They were identical with the enzyme isolated from wild-type bacteria with respect to molecular size, subunit configuration, pI, N-terminal amino acid sequence and stability under denaturing conditions (low pH, high urea and high guanidinium chloride) and in the nature and content of the prosthetic group (2 mol of PQQ per mol of MDH). They differed in their lack of Ca2+, the oxidation state of the extracted PQQ (fully oxidized), absence of the semiquinone form of PQQ in the enzyme, reactivity with the suicide inhibitor cyclopropanol and absorption spectrum, which indicated that PQQ is bound differently from that in normal MDH. Incubation of MDH from the mutants in calcium salts led to irreversible time-dependent reconstitution of full activity concomitant with restoration of a spectrum corresponding to that of fully reduced normal MDH. It is concluded that Ca2+ in MDH is directly or indirectly involved in binding PQQ in the active site. The MoxA, K and L proteins may be involved in maintaining a high Ca2+ concentration in the periplasm. It is more likely, however, that they fill a 'chaperone' function, stabilizing a configuration of MDH which permits incorporation of low concentrations of Ca2+ into the protein.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed2005

Is a third proton-conducting pathway operative in bacterial cytochrome c oxidase?

Despite the existence of several three-dimensional structures of cytochrome c oxidases, a detailed understanding of pathways involved in proton movements through the complex remains largely elusive. Next to the two well-established pathways (termed D and K), an additional proton-conducting network ('H-channel') has been proposed for the beef heart enzyme. Yet, our recent mutational studies on corresponding residues of the Paracoccus denitrificans cytochrome c oxidase provide no clues that such a pathway operates in the prokaryotic enzyme.

Bacterial Proteins↗