Protein film voltammetry reveals distinctive fingerprints of nitrite and hydroxylamine reduction by a cytochrome C nitrite reductase

The cytochrome c nitrite reductases perform a key step in the biological nitrogen cycle by catalyzing the six-electron reduction of nitrite to ammonium. Graphite electrodes painted with Escherichia coli cytochrome c nitrite reductase and placed in solutions containing nitrite (pH 7) exhibit large catalytic reduction currents during cyclic voltammetry at potentials below 0 V. These catalytic currents were not observed in the absence of cytochrome c nitrite reductase and were shown to originate from an enzyme film engaged in direct electron exchange with the electrode. The catalytic current-potential profiles observed on progression from substrate-limited to enzyme-limited nitrite reduction revealed a fingerprint of catalytic behavior distinct from that observed during hydroxylamine reduction, the latter being an alternative substrate for the enzyme that is reduced to ammonium in a two electron process. Cytochrome c nitrite reductase clearly interacts differently with these two substrates. However, similar features underlie the development of the voltammetric response with increasing nitrite or hydroxylamine concentration. These features are consistent with coordinated two-electron reduction of the active site and suggest that the mechanisms for reduction of both substrates are underpinned by common rate-defining processes.     

Spectral properties of bacterial nitric-oxide reductase: resolution of pH-dependent forms of the active site heme b3

Bacterial nitric-oxide reductase catalyzes the two electron reduction of nitric oxide to nitrous oxide. In the oxidized form the active site non-heme Fe(B) and high spin heme b(3) are mu-oxo bridged. The heme b(3) has a ligand-to-metal charge transfer band centered at 595 nm, which is insensitive to pH over the range of 6.0-8.5. Partial reduction of nitric-oxide reductase yields a three electron-reduced state where only the heme b(3) remains oxidized. This results in a shift of the heme b(3) charge transfer band lambda(max) to longer wavelengths. At pH 6.0 the charge transfer band lambda(max) is 605 nm, whereas at pH 8.5 it is 635 nm. At pH 6.5 and 7.5 the nitric-oxide reductase ferric heme b(3) population is a mixture of both 605- and 635-nm forms. Magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy suggests that at all pH values examined the proximal ligand to the ferric heme b(3) in the three electron-reduced form is histidine. At pH 8.5 the distal ligand is hydroxide, whereas at pH 6.0, when the enzyme is most active, it is water.     

Tuning a nitrate reductase for function. The first spectropotentiometric characterization of a bacterial assimilatory nitrate reductase reveals novel redox properties

Bacterial cytoplasmic assimilatory nitrate reductases are the least well characterized of all of the subgroups of nitrate reductases. In the present study the ferredoxin-dependent nitrate reductase NarB of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 was analyzed by spectropotentiometry and protein film voltammetry. Metal and acid-labile sulfide analysis revealed nearest integer values of 4:4:1 (iron/sulfur/molybdenum)/molecule of NarB. Analysis of dithionite-reduced enzyme by low temperature EPR revealed at 10 K the presence of a signal that is characteristic of a [4Fe-4S](1+) cluster. EPR-monitored potentiometric titration of NarB revealed that this cluster titrated as an n = 1 Nernstian component with a midpoint redox potential (E(m)) of -190 mV. EPR spectra collected at 60 K revealed a Mo(V) signal termed "very high g" with g(av) = 2.0047 in air-oxidized enzyme that accounted for only 10-20% of the total molybdenum. This signal disappeared upon reduction with dithionite, and a new "high g" species (g(av) = 1.9897) was observed. In potentiometric titrations the high g Mo(V) signal developed over the potential range of -100 to -350 mV (E(m) Mo(6+/5+) = -150 mV), and when fully developed, it accounted for 1 mol of Mo(V)/mol of enzyme. Protein film voltammetry of NarB revealed that activity is turned on at potentials below -200 mV, where the cofactors are predominantly [4Fe-4S](1+) and Mo(5+). The data suggests that during the catalytic cycle nitrate will bind to the Mo(5+) state of NarB in which the enzyme is minimally two-electron-reduced. Comparison of the spectral properties of NarB with those of the membrane-bound and periplasmic respiratory nitrate reductases reveals that it is closely related to the periplasmic enzyme, but the potential of the molybdenum center of NarB is tuned to operate at lower potentials, consistent with the coupling of NarB to low potential ferredoxins in the cell cytoplasm.     

Menaquinone-7 is specific cofactor in tetraheme quinol dehydrogenase CymA

Little is known about enzymatic quinone-quinol interconversions in the lipid membrane when compared with our knowledge of substrate transformations by globular enzymes. Here, the smallest example of a quinol dehydrogenase in nature, CymA, has been studied. CymA is a monotopic membrane tetraheme c-type cytochrome belonging to the NapC/NirT family and central to anaerobic respiration in Shewanella sp. Using protein-film electrochemistry, it is shown that vesicle-bound menaquinone-7 is not only a substrate for this enzyme but is also required as a cofactor when converting other quinones. Here, we propose that the high concentration of quinones in the membrane negates the evolutionary pressure to create a high affinity active site. However, the instability and reactivity of reaction intermediate, semiquinone, might require a cofactor that functions to minimize damaging side reactions.     

Exploring the biochemistry at the extracellular redox frontier of bacterial mineral Fe(III) respiration

Many species of the bacterial Shewanella genus are notable for their ability to respire in anoxic environments utilizing insoluble minerals of Fe(III) and Mn(IV) as extracellular electron acceptors. In Shewanella oneidensis, the process is dependent on the decahaem electron-transport proteins that lie at the extracellular face of the outer membrane where they can contact the insoluble mineral substrates. These extracellular proteins are charged with electrons provided by an inter-membrane electron-transfer pathway that links the extracellular face of the outer membrane with the inner cytoplasmic membrane and thereby intracellular electron sources. In the present paper, we consider the common structural features of two of these outer-membrane decahaem cytochromes, MtrC and MtrF, and bring this together with biochemical, spectroscopic and voltammetric data to identify common and distinct properties of these prototypical members of different clades of the outer-membrane decahaem cytochrome superfamily.     

Redox and Chemical Activities of the Hemes in the Sulfur Oxidation Pathway Enzyme SoxAX

SoxAX enzymes couple disulfide bond formation to the reduction of cytochrome c in the first step of the phylogenetically widespread Sox microbial sulfur oxidation pathway. Rhodovulum sulfidophilum SoxAX contains three hemes. An electrochemical cell compatible with magnetic circular dichroism at near infrared wavelengths has been developed to resolve redox and chemical properties of the SoxAX hemes. In combination with potentiometric titrations monitored by electronic absorbance and EPR, this method defines midpoint potentials (E_m) at pH 7.0 of approximately +210, −340, and −400 mV for the His/Met, His/Cys⁻, and active site His/CysS⁻-ligated heme, respectively. Exposing SoxAX to S₂O₄²⁻, a substrate analog with E_m ∼−450 mV, but not Eu(II) complexed with diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (E_m ∼−1140 mV), allows cyanide to displace the cysteine persulfide (CysS⁻) ligand to the active site heme. This provides the first evidence for the dissociation of CysS⁻ that has been proposed as a key event in SoxAX catalysis.     

Electron transfer to the active site of the bacterial nitric oxide reductase is controlled by ligand binding to heme b₃

The active site of the bacterial nitric oxide reductase from Paracoccus denitrificans contains a dinuclear centre comprising heme b? and non heme iron (Fe(B)). These metal centres are shown to be at isopotential with midpoint reduction potentials of E(m) ≈ +80 mV. The midpoint reduction potentials of the other two metal centres in the enzyme, heme c and heme b, are greater than the dinuclear centre suggesting that they act as an electron receiving/storage module. Reduction of the low-spin heme b causes structural changes at the dinuclear centre which allow access to substrate molecules. In the presence of the substrate analogue, CO, the midpoint reduction potential of heme b? is raised to a region similar to that of heme c and heme b. This leads us to suggest that reduction of the electron transfer hemes leads to an opening of the active site which allows substrate to bind and in turn raises the reduction potential of the active site such that electrons are only delivered to the active site following substrate binding.     

Using strip seeding to test how restoration design affects randomness of community assembly

The reestablishment and enhancement of plant diversity is typically a priority for restoration practitioners. Since diversity and stability can be affected by the magnitude to which randomness drives community dynamics, modifying randomness (via habitat heterogeneity) could provide utility for vegetation managers. We investigated the value of using strip seeding to manipulate the magnitude to which randomness structures plant communities across a grassland in Davis, California. Five years after restoring portions of a degraded site (0, 33, 50, 66, and 100% of an area) to create patches of seeded and unseeded strips, we assessed the amount of Jaccard dissimilarity across quadrats within strips and estimated the magnitude to which randomness contributed to community assembly (termed the nugget). We found higher nuggets in the 66 and 33% seeding treatment levels compared to the 0, 50, and 100% seeding treatment levels. In the 33 and 66% level of the seeding treatment, we also found that unseeded strips, which are regularly exposed to random events of dispersal from seeded strips, had a higher nugget than seeded strips. This work suggests that strategic seeding techniques that enhance habitat heterogeneity can increase the role of randomness in community dynamics. Strip seeding strategies appear to provide utility as a tool to indirectly enhance diversity across a degraded site.     

Antibacterial,antifungal and in vitro antileukaemia activity of metal complexes with thiosemicarbazones

1‐phenyl‐3‐methyl‐4‐benzoyl‐5‐pyrazolone 4‐ethyl‐thiosemicarbazone (HL) and its copper(II), vanadium(V) and nickel(II) complexes: [Cu(L)(Cl)]·C₂H₅OH·( 1 ), [Cu(L)₂]·H₂O ( 2 ), [Cu(L)(Br)]·H₂O·CH₃OH ( 3 ), [Cu(L)(NO₃)]·2C₂H₅OH ( 4 ), [VO₂(L)]·2H₂O ( 5 ), [Ni(L)₂]·H₂O ( 6 ), were synthesized and characterized. The ligand has been characterized by elemental analyses, IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The tridentate nature of the ligand is evident from the IR spectra. The copper(II), vanadium(V) and nickel(II) complexes have been characterized by different physico‐chemical techniques such as molar conductivity, magnetic susceptibility measurements and electronic, infrared and electron paramagnetic resonance spectral studies. The structures of the ligand and its copper(II) ( 2 , 4 ), and vanadium(V) ( 5 ) complexes have been determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The composition of the coordination polyhedron of the central atom in 2 , 4 and 5 is different. The tetrahedral coordination geometry of Cu was found in complex 2 while in complex 4 , it is square planar, in complex 5 the coordination polyhedron of the central ion is distorted square pyramid. The in vitro antibacterial activity of the complexes against Escherichia coli, Salmonella abony, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and the antifungal activity against Candida albicans strains was higher for the metal complexes than for free ligand. The effect of the free ligand and its metal complexes on the proliferation of HL‐60 cells was tested.