Energy transduction in photosynthetic bacteria. XI. Further resolution of cytochromes of b type and the nature of the CO-sensitive oxidase present in the respiratory chain of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

1. In membranes prepared from dark grown cells of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata, five cytochromes of b type (E′₀ at pH 7.0 +413±5, +270±5, +148±5, +56±5 and ?32±5 mV) can be detected by redox titrations at different pH values. The midpoint potentials of only three of these cytochromes (b₁₄₈, b₅₆, and b_?32) vary as a function of pH with a slope of 30 mV per pH unit.

2. In the presence of a Co/N₂ mixture, the apparent E′₀ of cytochrome b₂₇₀ shifts markedly towards higher potentials (+355 mV); a similar but less pronounced shift is apparent also for cytochrome b₁₅₀. The effect of CO on the midpoint potential of cytochrome b₂₇₀ is absent in the respiration deficient mutant M6 which possesses a specific lesion in the CO-sensitive segment of the branched respiratory chain present in the wild type strain.

3. Preparations of spheroplasts with lysozyme digestion lead to the release of a large amount of cytochrome c₂ and of virtually all cytochrome cc′. These preparations show a respiratory chain impaired in the electron pathway sensitive to low KCN concentration, in agreement with the proposed role of cytochrome c₂ in this branch; on the contrary, the activity of the CO-sensitive branch remains unaffected, indicating that neither cytochrome c₂ nor the CO-binding cytochrome cc′ are involved in this pathway.

4. Membranes prepared from spheroplasts still possess a CO-binding pigment characterized by maxima at 420.5, 543 and 574 nm and minima at 431, 560 nm in CO-difference spectra and with an band at 562.5 nm in reduced minus oxidized difference spectra. This membrane-bound cytochrome, which is coincident with cytochrome b₂₇₀, can be classified as a typical cytochrome “o” and considered the alternative CO-sensitive oxidase.