scholarly journals Reduction of cytochromes by nitrite in electron-transport particles from Nitrobacter winogradskyi: proposal of a mechanism for H+ translocation

1976 ◽  
Vol 156 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
J G Cobley

1. A novel component in the respiratory chain of Nitrobacter winogradskyi was identified. This component absorbs maximally at 552.5 nm when in its reduced form, has an Eo' (pH7.0) value of-110mV and undergoes reduction by a mechanism involving the transfer of a single electron. 2. Degrees of reduction of cytochromes c and a1 in electron-transport (ET) particles were monitored during the course of NO2- oxidation, and the effects of ADP together with Pi, oligomycin and of carbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone were determined. 3. The influences of ionophorous antibiotics, NH4Cl and cyclohexylamine hydrochloride on the reductions of cytochromes c and a1 by NO2- indicate that the flow of reducing equivalents from cytochrome a1 (+350mV) to cytochrome c (+270mV) is facilitated by deltapsi, the electrical component of the protonmotive force. 4. Cytochromes c and a1 in ET particles are reduced by the non-physiological reductant KBH4 in a manner similar to that observed with the physiological reductant NO2-. 5. To account both for the observed cytochrome reductions and for the translocation of H+ ions which accompanies NO2- oxidation, a mechanism is proposed which involves the transfer of a hydride equivalent (H+ plus 2e) inward across the membrane of the ET particle in response to deltapsi.

1976 ◽  
Vol 156 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
J G Cobley

1. In electron-transport particles (ET particles) prepared from Nitrobacter winogradskyi, the uncoupling agent carbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone increased the rate of NADH oxidation but decreased the rate of oxidation of NO2-. Its effectiveness in stimulating NADH oxidation closely paralleled its effectiveness in inhibiting NO2- oxidation. 2. In the presence of ADP and phosphate the oxidation of NADH was stimulated, whereas the oxidation of NO2- was inhibited. In the presence of excess of Pi the concentration dependence with respect to ADP was the same for acceleration of NADH oxidation and inhibition of NO2- oxidation. 3. Oligomycin inhibited NADH oxidation and stimulated the oxidation of NO2-. The concentration of oligomycin required to produce half-maximal effect in both systems was the same. 4. The apparent Km for NO2- was not affected by ADP together with Pi, by uncoupling agent or by oligomycin. 5. With NADH as substrate, classical respiratory control was observed. With NO2- as substrate the respiratory-control ratio was less than unity. 6. A reversible uptake of H+ accompanied the oxidation of NO2- by ET particles. 7. In the presence of NH4Cl or cyclohexylamine hydrochloride, H+ uptake was abolished and increased rates of NO2- oxidation were observed. When valinomycin was present in the reaction medium, low concentrations of NH4Cl inhibited NO2- oxidation. 8. Pretreatment of ET particles with oligomycin enhanced the stimulation of NO2- oxidation induced by NH4Cl or by cyclohexylamine hydrochloride. Pretreatment with the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone prevented these stimulations. 9. In the presence of dianemycin together with K+, the uptake of H+ was abolished and the rate of NO2- oxidation was increased. In contrast, in the presence of valinomycin together with K+, the uptake of H+ was increased, and the rate of NO2- oxidation decreased. 10. Sodium tetraphenylboron was found to be an inhibitor of NO2- oxidation, but caused a stimulation of NADH oxidation which was dependent on the presence of NH4Cl or cyclohexylamine hydrochloride. 11. It is concluded that the enhanced rate of NO2- oxidation observed in the absence of energy-dissipating processes clearly relates to some state before the involvement of adenine nucleotides, and it is suggested that the oxidation of NO2- generates a protonmotive force, the electrical component of which controls the rate of NO2- oxidation.


1974 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 943-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ishaque ◽  
Laszlo Kato

The respiratory chain system of cell suspensions of Mycobacterium lepraemurium was investigated spectrophotometrically. The results obtained indicated that whole cell preparations contained flavins, cytochromes of the a + a3 and b type, as well as two CO-binding pigments; cytochromes a3–CO and a second pigment similar to cytochrome o. The cytochromes were found to be in the reduced form. The presence of cytochrome systems could only be shown after the cell suspensions in the reference cuvette were exposed to oxygen. The positions of the peaks in the difference spectra were similar when the cell suspensions were reduced anaerobically without added substrate or treated with dithionite. The whole cell suspensions of M. lepraemurium were not found to contain detectable quantities of cytochrome c.


1978 ◽  
Vol 172 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Halestrap

Mitochondria from glucagon-treated rats oxidize succinate, but not ascorbate plus tetramethylphenylenediamine, faster in the uncoupled state than do control mitochondria. The rate of O2 uptake in the presence of both substrates is equal to the sum of the rates of the O2 uptake in the presence of either substrate alone. It is concluded that the mitochondrial respiratory chain is limited at some point between cytochromes b and c and that this step is regulated by glucagon. Measurement of the cytochrome spectra under uncoupled conditions in the presence of succinate and rotenone demonstrates a crossover between cytochromes c and c1 when control mitochondria are compared with those from glucagon-treated rats, cytochrome c being more oxidized and cytochrome c1 more reduced in control mitochondria. Under conditions where pyruvate metabolism is studied the control mitochondria are generally more oxidized than those from glucagon-treated rats, the redox state of cytochrome b-566 correlating with the rate of pyruvate metabolism in sucrose medium. However, when the redox state of the mitochondria is taken into account, a crossover between cytochromes c and c1 is again apparent. The spectra of the b cytochromes are complex, but cytochrome b-562 appears to become more reduced relative to cytochrome b-566 in mitochondria from glucagon-treated rats than in control mitochondria. This can be explained by the existence of a more alkaline matrix in glucagon-treated rats, the redox potential for cytochrome b being pH-sensitive. It is concluded that glucagon stimulates electron flow between cytochromes c1 and c. The physiological significance of these findings is discussed.


1975 ◽  
Vol 152 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Widdowson ◽  
Christopher Anthony

Pseudomonas AM1, Hyphomicrobium X and Pseudomonas MS all contain cytochrome a/a3 and a b-type cytochrome able to react with CO. Pseudomonas AM1 and Hyphomicrobium X also have a CO-binding cytochrome c. The purified cytochrome c (redox potential 0.26V) of Pseudomonas AM1 was not susceptible to oxidation by molecular oxygen. CO reacted slowly with the reduced form giving a CO difference spectrum with a peak at 412nm and troughs at 420nm and 550nm. Similar results were obtained with the cytochrome c of Hyphomicrobium (aerobically grown or anaerobically grown with nitrate) and with that of Pseudomonas extorquens. The results given in the present paper are incompatible with an oxygenase or oxidase function for the soluble cytochrome c of methylotrophs. Studies with whole cells of Pseudomonas AM1 and a cytochrome c-deficient mutant have demonstrated that cytochrome b (redox potential 0.009V) is the first cytochrome in the electron-transport chain for oxidation of all substrates except methanol (and ethanol) whose oxidation does not involve this cytochrome. All substrates are usually oxidized by way of cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase (cytochrome a/a3), but there is an alternative route for the reduction of cytochrome a/a3 in the mutant lacking cytochrome c. Results of experiments on cyanide inhibition of respiration and cytochrome oxidation support the suggestion that the susceptibility of cytochrome b to oxidation by molecular oxygen (reflected in its ability to react with CO) is probably irrelevant to the normal physiology of Pseudomonas AM1.


1967 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Luigi Sottocasa ◽  
Bo Kuylenstierna ◽  
Lars Ernster ◽  
Anders Bergstrand

Preparations of rat-liver mitochondria catalyze the oxidation of exogenous NADH by added cytochrome c or ferricyanide by a reaction that is insensitive to the respiratory chain inhibitors, antimycin A, amytal, and rotenone, and is not coupled to phosphorylation. Experiments with tritiated NADH are described which demonstrate that this "external" pathway of NADH oxidation resembles stereochemically the NADH-cytochrome c reductase system of liver microsomes, and differs from the respiratory chain-linked NADH dehydrogenase. Enzyme distributation data are presented which substantiate the conclusion that microsomal contamination cannot account for the rotenone-insensitive NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity observed with the mitochondria. A procedure is developed, based on swelling and shrinking of the mitochondria followed by sonication and density gradient centrifugation, which permits the separation of two particulate subfractions, one containing the bulk of the respiratory chain components, and the other the bulk of the rotenone-insensitive NADH-cytochrome c reductase system. Morphological evidence supports the conclusion that the former subfraction consists of mitochondria devoid of outer membrane, and that the latter represents derivatives of the outer membrane. The data indicate that the electron-transport system associated with the mitochondrial outer membrane involves catalytic components similar to, or identical with, the microsomal NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase and cytochrome b5.


1996 ◽  
Vol 320 (3) ◽  
pp. 837-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee-Feng CHIEN ◽  
Martin D. BRAND

The effect of chloroform on mitochondrial respiration with succinate was investigated by applying the method of Brand, Chien and Diolez [(1994) Biochem. J. 297, 27–29] to examine whether chloroform causes redox slip (fewer protons pumped per electron transferred) during mitochondrial electron transport. N,N,N´,N´-Tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD), which lowers H+/O (the number of protons pumped to the external medium by the electron transport complexes per oxygen atom consumed) by altering the electron flow pathway, was investigated for comparison. Non-phosphorylating mitochondria that had been treated with 350 µM TMPD or 30 mM chloroform were titrated with malonate in the presence of submaximal concentrations of the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). Linear relations between CCCP-induced extra respiration and protonmotive force were obtained. These results showed that there was no measurable protonmotive force-dependent or rate-dependent slip in mitochondria treated with either TMPD or chloroform. However, both TMPD and chloroform seemed to decrease H+/O in a manner independent of protonmotive force and rate. The relationship between non-phosphorylating respiration and protonmotive force was simulated in mitochondria of which 25% of the total population were assumed to have been broken. The simulation showed that the apparent decrease in H+/O on the addition of TMPD or chloroform to mitochondria could be in principle accounted for by breakage. Assays of mitochondrial breakage (ATP hydrolysis in the presence of atractyloside and oxidation of exogenous NADH) showed that chloroform broke mitochondria but TMPD did not. We conclude that chloroform changes the measured H+/O as an artifact by causing mitochondrial breakage and does not cause measurable redox slip, whereas TMPD genuinely lowers H+/O.


1982 ◽  
Vol 204 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
A P Halestrap

1. Cytochrome spectra of the liver and heart mitochondria incubated under various conditions are presented to compare the effects of antimycin, colletotrichin and 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide (HQNO) additions. 2. Under aerobic conditions, in State 4, in the presence of uncoupler or in the presence of cyanide, all three inhibitors caused oxidation of cytochromes c and c1, but different changes in the spectra of the b cytochromes. Antimycin caused oxidation of a peak at 558 nm and reduction of peaks at 562 nm and 566 nm, whereas colletotrichin caused reduction of peaks at 558 nm and 566 nm and oxidation at 562 nm. HQNO had an effect on the spectra intermediate between those of the two other inhibitors. 3. Under aerobic conditions in the presence of 5 mM-succinate and 5 mM-fumarate, antimycin caused reduction of a peak at 566 nm and oxidation of a peak at 558 nm, whereas colletotrichin had the reverse effect and HQNO caused reduction of a peak at 562 nm. 4. Colletotrichin inhibition of the ADP-stimulated oxidation of glutamate + malate was enhanced by succinate addition and declined again with rotenone addition. Similar but smaller effects were seen with inhibition by antimycin and HQNO. 5. Cytochrome spectra are shown of the effects of ADP and uncoupler addition to stimulate respiration progressively. 6. The results are interpreted in terms of a modified ‘Q cycle’ [Mitchell (1976) J. Theor. Biol. 62, 327-367] in which the three inhibitors are postulated to displace ubiquinone and ubisemiquinone specifically bound to cytochromes b on both sides of the membrane. 7. It is suggested that cytochromes b558 and b566 are the same b cytochrome located on the outer surface of the membrane, but binding ubisemiquinone or colletotrichin and ubiquinone or antimycin respectively. Cytochrome b562 is postulated to be on the inner surface of the mitochondrial membrane and to bind either ubiquinone or ubisemiquinone, HQNO would bind to the reduced form of the cytochrome and colletotrichin to the oxidized form. 8. Sites for the locus of action of glucagon and the protonmotive force on electron flow are suggested.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Herfurth ◽  
Anke Treuner-Lange ◽  
Timo Glatter ◽  
Nadine Wittmaack ◽  
Egbert Hoiczyk ◽  
...  

Type IVa pili (T4aP) are versatile bacterial cell surface structures that undergo extension/adhesion/retraction cycles powered by the cell envelope-spanning T4aP machine. In this machine, a complex composed of four minor pilins and PilY1 primes T4aP extension and is also present at the pilus tip mediating adhesion. Similar to many other bacteria, Myxococcus xanthus contains multiple minor pilins/PilY1 sets that are incompletely understood. Here, we report that minor pilins and PilY1 (PilY1.1) of cluster_1 form priming and tip complexes contingent on a non-canonical cytochrome c (TfcP) with an unusual His/Cys heme ligation and calcium. We provide evidence that TfcP is unlikely to participate in electron transport and has been repurposed to promote calcium binding by PilY1.1 at low calcium concentrations, thereby stabilising PilY1.1 and enabling T4aP function in a broader range of calcium concentrations. These results identify a novel function of cytochromes c and illustrate how incorporating an accessory factor expands the environmental range under which the T4aP system functions.


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