The road to the crystal structure of the cytochrome bc1 complex from the anoxigenic, photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Cryo-EM structures of engineered active bc1-cbb3 type CIII2CIV super-complexes and electronic communication between the complexes

Respiratory electron transport complexes are organized as individual entities or combined as large supercomplexes (SC). Gram-negative bacteria deploy a mitochondrial-like cytochrome (cyt) bc₁ (Complex III, CIII₂), and may have specific cbb₃-type cyt c oxidases (Complex IV, CIV) instead of the canonical aa₃-type CIV. Electron transfer between these complexes is mediated by soluble (c₂) and membrane-anchored (c_y) cyts. Here, we report the structure of an engineered bc₁-cbb₃ type SC (CIII₂CIV, 5.2 Å resolution) and three conformers of native CIII₂ (3.3 Å resolution). The SC is active in vivo and in vitro, contains all catalytic subunits and cofactors, and two extra transmembrane helices attributed to cyt c_y and the assembly factor CcoH. The cyt c_y is integral to SC, its cyt domain is mobile and it conveys electrons to CIV differently than cyt c₂. The successful production of a native-like functional SC and determination of its structure illustrate the characteristics of membrane-confined and membrane-external respiratory electron transport pathways in Gram-negative bacteria.

Ultrafast dynamics of the photo-excited hemes b and cn in the cytochrome b6f complex

The dynamics of hemes b and c_n within the cytochrome b₆f complex are investigated by means of ultrafast broad-band transient absorption spectroscopy. On the one hand, the data reveal that, subsequent to visible light excitation, part of the b hemes undergoes pulse-limited photo-oxidation, with the liberated electron supposedly being transferred to one of the adjacent aromatic amino acids. Photo-oxidation is followed by charge recombination in about 8.2 ps. Subsequent to charge recombination, heme b is promoted to a vibrationally excited ground state that relaxes in about 4.6 ps. On the other hand, heme c_n undergoes ultrafast ground state recovery in about 140 fs. Interestingly, the data also show that, in contrast to previous beliefs, Chl a is involved in the photochemistry of hemes. Indeed, subsequent to heme excitation, Chl a bleaches and recovers to its ground state in 90 fs and 650 fs, respectively. Chl a bleaching allegedly corresponds to the formation of a short lived Chl a anion. Beyond the previously suggested structural role, this study provides unique evidence that Chl a is directly involved in the photochemistry of the hemes.

Photo-induced oxidation of the uniquely liganded heme f in the cytochrome b6f complex of oxygenic photosynthesis

The ultrafast behavior of the ferrous heme f from the cytochrome b6f complex of oxygenic photosynthesis is revealed by means of transient absorption spectroscopy. Benefiting from the use of microfluidic technologies for handling the sample as well as from a complementary frame-by-frame analysis of the heme dynamics, the different relaxation mechanisms from vibrationally excited states are disentangled and monitored via the shifts of the heme α-absorption band. Under 520 nm laser excitation, about 85% of the heme f undergoes pulse-limited photo-oxidation (<100 fs), with the electron acceptor being most probably one of the adjacent aromatic amino acid residues. After charge recombination in 5.3 ps, the residual excess energy is dissipated in 3.6 ps. In a parallel pathway, the remaining 15% of the hemes directly relax from their excited state in 2.5 ps. In contrast to a vast variety of heme-proteins, including the homologous heme c1 from the cytochrome bc1 complex, there is no evidence that heme f photo-dissociates from its axial ligands. Due to its unique binding, with histidine and an unusual tyrosine as axial ligands, the heme f exemplifies a dependence of ultrafast dynamics on the structural environment.

New methods for determining proton pumping ability and electron transfer activity of the cytochrome bc1 complex

It is important to determine the electron transfer activity and proton pumping ability of the cytochrome bc1 complex for better understanding its structure and function. In this study, several methods for determining the electron transfer and proton pumping of the bc1 complex, including the traditional and the new methods, are presented and evaluated. For determining the proton pumping ability of the bc1 complex, the new stopped-flow method has a higher accuracy than the traditional pH meter method, and the new spectrophotometer method is more convenient than the traditional pH meter method. In measuring the electron transfer activity of the bc1 complex, the new stopped-flow method is more accurate and has a higher separating capacity than the traditional spectrophotometer method.

A map of dielectric heterogeneity in a membrane protein: the hetero-oligomeric cytochrome b6f complex

The cytochrome b₆f complex, a member of the cytochrome bc family that mediates energy transduction in photosynthetic and respiratory membranes, is a hetero-oligomeric complex that utilizes two pairs of b-hemes in a symmetric dimer to accomplish trans-membrane electron transfer, quinone oxidation–reduction, and generation of a proton electrochemical potential. Analysis of electron storage in this pathway, utilizing simultaneous measurement of heme reduction, and of circular dichroism (CD) spectra, to assay heme–heme interactions, implies a heterogeneous distribution of the dielectric constants that mediate electrostatic interactions between the four hemes in the complex. Crystallographic information was used to determine the identity of the interacting hemes. The Soret band CD signal is dominated by excitonic interaction between the intramonomer b-hemes, b_n and b_p, on the electrochemically negative and positive sides of the complex. Kinetic data imply that the most probable pathway for transfer of the two electrons needed for quinone oxidation–reduction utilizes this intramonomer heme pair, contradicting the expectation based on heme redox potentials and thermodynamics, that the two higher potential hemes b_n on different monomers would be preferentially reduced. Energetically preferred intramonomer electron storage of electrons on the intramonomer b-hemes is found to require heterogeneity of interheme dielectric constants. Relative to the medium separating the two higher potential hemes b_n, a relatively large dielectric constant must exist between the intramonomer b-hemes, allowing a smaller electrostatic repulsion between the reduced hemes. Heterogeneity of dielectric constants is an additional structure–function parameter of membrane protein complexes.

Structural analysis of cytochrome bc1 complexes: implications to the mechanism of function

The cytochrome bc1 complex (bc1) is the mid-segment of the cellular respiratory chain of mitochondria and many aerobic prokaryotic organisms; it is also part of the photosynthetic apparatus of non-oxygenic purple bacteria. The bc1 complex catalyzes the reaction of transferring electrons from the low potential substrate ubiquinol to high potential cytochrome c. Concomitantly, bc1 translocates protons across the membrane, contributing to the proton-motive force essential for a variety of cellular activities such as ATP synthesis. Structural investigations of bc1 have been exceedingly successful, yielding atomic resolution structures of bc1 from various organisms and trapped in different reaction intermediates. These structures have confirmed and unified results of decades of experiments and have contributed to our understanding of the mechanism of bc1 functions as well as its inactivation by respiratory inhibitors. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Respiratory complex III and related bc complexes.

Vitamin K2 in electron transport system: are enzymes involved in vitamin K2 biosynthesis promising drug targets?

Aerobic and anaerobic respiratory systems allow cells to transport the electrons to terminal electron acceptors. The quinone (ubiquinone or menaquinone) pool is central to the electron transport chain. In the majority of gram-positive bacteria, vitamin K2 (menaquinone) is the sole quinone in the electron transport chain, and thus, the bacterial enzymes catalyzing the synthesis of menaquinone are potential targets for the development of novel antibacterial drugs. This manuscript reviews the role of vitamin K in bacteria and humans, and especially emphasizes on recent aspects of menaquinones in bacterial electron transport chain and on discoveries of inhibitor molecules targeting bacterial electron transport systems for new antibacterial agents.

Atomic force microscopy of the bacterial photosynthetic apparatus: plain pictures of an elaborate machinery

Photosynthesis both in the past and present provides the vast majority of the energy used on the planet. The purple photosynthetic bacteria are a group of organisms that are able to perform photosynthesis using a particularly simple system that has been much studied. The main molecular constituents required for photosynthesis in these organisms are a small number of transmembrane pigment-protein complexes. These are able to function together with a high quantum efficiency (about 95%) to convert light energy into chemical potential energy. While the structure of the various proteins have been solved for several years, direct studies of the supramolecular assembly of these complexes in native membranes needed maturity of the atomic force microscope (AFM). Here, we review the novel findings and the direct conclusions that could be drawn from high-resolution AFM analysis of photosynthetic membranes. These conclusions rely on the possibility that the AFM brings of obtaining molecular resolution images of large membrane areas and thereby bridging the resolution gap between atomic structures and cellular ultrastructure.