Iron Reduction and Trans Plasma Membrane Electron Transfer in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The ferri-reductase activity of whole cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (washed free from the growth medium) was markedly increased 3 to 6 h after transferring the cells from a complete growth medium (preculture) to an iron-deficient growth medium (culture). This increase was prevented by the presence of iron, copper, excess oxygen, or other oxidative agents in the culture medium. The cells with increased ferri-reductase activity had a higher reduced glutathione content and a higher capacity to expose exofacial sulfhydryl groups. Plasma membranes purified from those cells exhibited a higher reduced nicotinamide adenine phosphate (NADPH)-dependent ferri-reductase specific activity. However, the intracellular levels of NADPH, NADH, and certain organic acids of the tricarboxylic acids cycle were unchanged, and the activity of NADPH-generating enzymes was not increased. Addition of Fe(III)-EDTA to iron-deprived and iron-rich cells in resting suspension resulted in a decrease in intracellular reduced glutathione in the case of iron-deprived cells and in an increase in organic acids and a sudden oxidation of NADH in both types of cells. The depolarizing effect of Fe³⁺ was more pronounced in iron-rich cells. The metabolic pathways that may be involved in regulating the trans-plasma membrane electron transfer in yeast are discussed.     

Regulated redox processes at the plasmalemma of plant root cells and their function in iron uptake

Plants take up iron as ferric chelates or, after reduction, as ferrous ions. Ferric reduction takes place at the plasma membrane of the root epidermis cells by a transmembrane redox system, which can be activated when iron is getting short. It is proposed that this inducible system, with NADPH as electron donor, is separate from a system, presumably present in all plant cells, which transports electrons from NADH or NADPH to ferricyanide, or,in vivo, oygen.     

The purification and properties of nitrite reductase from higher plants, and its dependence on ferredoxin

1. NADPH-dependent nitrite reductase from the leaves of higher plants was purified at least 70-fold and separated into two enzyme fractions. The first enzyme, a diaphorase with ferredoxin-NADP-reductase activity, is required only to transfer electrons from NADPH to a suitable electron acceptor, which then donates electrons to nitrite reductase proper. 2. Purified nitrite reductase accepted electrons from ferredoxin (the natural donor) or from reduced dyes. Ferredoxin was reduced by illuminated chloroplasts or dithionite, or by NADPH when diaphorase was present. The purified enzyme did not accept electrons directly from NADPH. 3. Ferredoxins purified from maize, spinach or Clostridium were interchangeable in the nitrite-reductase system. 4. Nitrite reductase had K(m) 0.15mm for nitrite. The pH optimum varied with plant and method of assay. The preparation had low sulphite-reductase activity. Ammonia was the product of nitrite reduction. 5. For some plants, the assay of crude preparations with NADPH was limited by diaphorase and the addition of diaphorase gave a better estimate of nitrite-reductase activity. A simple method of assay is described that uses dithionite with benzyl viologen as electron donor.     

Purification and identification of an FMN-dependent NAD(P)H azoreductase from Enterococcus faecalis

Azoreductases reduce the azo bond (N=N) in azo dyes to produce colorless amine products. Crude cell extracts from Enterococcus faecalis have been shown to utilize both NADH and NADPH as electron donors for azo dye reduction. An azoreductase was purified from E. faecalis by hydrophobic, anion exchange and affinity chromatography. The azoreductase activity of the purified preparation was tested on a polyacrylamide gel after electrophoresis under native conditions and the protein that decolorized the azo dye (Methyl Red) with both NADH and NADPH was identified by mass spectrometry to be AzoA. Previously, the heterologously expressed and purified AzoA was shown to utilize NADH only for the reduction of Methyl Red. However, AzoA purified from the wild-type organism was shown to utilize both coenzymes but with more than 180-fold preference for NADH over NADPH as an electron donor to reduce Methyl Red. Also, its specific activity was more than 150-fold higher than the previous study on AzoAwhen NADH was used as the electron donor. The catalytic efficiency for Methyl Red reduction by AzoA from E. faecalis was several orders of magnitude higher than other azoreductases that were purified from a heterologous source.     

Purification and characterization of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase,a three-component dioxygenase system of Pseudomonas resinovorans strain CA10

The carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) system of Pseudomonas resinovorans strain CA10 consists of terminal oxygenase (CarAa), ferredoxin (CarAc), and ferredoxin reductase (CarAd). Each component of CARDO was expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) as a native form (CarAa) or a His-tagged form (CarAc and CarAd) and was purified to apparent homogeneity. CarAa was found to be trimeric and to have one Rieske type [2Fe-2S] cluster and one mononuclear iron center in each monomer. Both His-tagged proteins were found to be monomeric and to contain the prosthetic groups predicted from the deduced amino acid sequence (His-tagged CarAd, one FAD and one [2Fe-2S] cluster per monomer protein; His-tagged CarAc, one Rieske type [2Fe-2S] cluster per monomer protein). Both NADH and NADPH were effective as electron donors for His-tagged CarAd. However, since the k(cat)/K(m) for NADH is 22.3-fold higher than that for NADPH in the 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol reductase assay, NADH was supposed to be the physiological electron donor of CarAd. In the presence of NADH, His-tagged CarAc was reduced by His-tagged CarAd. Similarly, CarAa was reduced by His-tagged CarAc, His-tagged CarAd, and NADH. The three purified proteins could reconstitute the CARDO activity in vitro. In the reconstituted CARDO system, His-tagged CarAc seemed to be indispensable for electron transport, while His-tagged CarAd could be replaced by some unrelated reductases.     

Reconstitution of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylation activity using a mouse liver cytosol fraction and soluble cytochrome b5 purified from horse erythrocytes.

The hydroxylation of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-NeuAc) in the formation of CMP-N-glycolylneuraminic acid requires several components which comprise an electron transport system. A protein, which replaces one of the components, was purified to homogeneity from a horse erythrocyte lysate. Based on its partial amino acid sequence and immunological cross-reactivity, this protein was identified as soluble cytochrome b5 lacking the membrane domain of microsomal cytochrome b5. The electron transport system involved in CMP-NeuAc hydroxylation was reconstituted, and then characterized using the purified horse soluble cytochrome b5 and a fraction from mouse liver cytosol. The hydroxylation reaction requires a reducing reagent, DTT being the most effective. Either NADH or NADPH was used as an electron donor, but the activity with NADPH amounted to about 74% of that with NADH. The hydroxylation was inhibited by salts and azide due to interruption of the electron transport from NAD(P)H to cytochrome b5 and in the terminal enzyme reaction, respectively.     

Purified liver microsomal cytochrome P-450. Electron-accepting properties and oxidation-reduction potential.

The reduction of highly purified cytochrome P-450 from rabbit liver microsomes under anaerobic conditions requires 2 electrons per molecule. Similar results were obtained with dithionite, NADPH in the presence of NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, or a photochemical system as the electron donor, with CO or other ligands, with substrate or phosphatidylcholine present, after denaturation to form cytochrome P-420, or with cytochrome P-450 partially purified from rat or mouse liver microsomes. The reduced cytochrome P-450 donates 2 electrons to dichlorophenolindophenol or to cytochrome c. Reoxidation of reduced cytochrome P-450 by molecular oxygen restores a state where 2 electrons from dithionite are required for re-reduction. Although these unexpected findings indicate the presence of an electron acceptor in addition to the heme iron atom, significant amounts of non-heme iron, other metals or cofactors, or disulfide bonds were not found, and free radicals were not detected by electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry. Resolution of the cytochrome with acetone and acid yielded the apoenzyme, which did not accept electrons, and ferriprotoporphyrin IX, which accepted a single electron. A reconstituted hemoprotein preparation with the spectral characteristics of cytochrome P-420 accepted as much as 0.7 extra electron equivalent per heme. The midpoint oxidation-reduction potential of purified cytochrome P-450 from rabbit liver microsomes at pH 7.0 is -330 mv, and with CO present this value is changed to about -150 mv. The oxidation-reduction potential is unaffected by the presence of phosphatidylcholine or benzphetamine, a typical substrate. Laurate, aminopyrine, and benzphetamine undergo hydroxylation in the presence of chemically reduced cytochrome P-450 and molecular oxygen. Neither NADPH nor the reductase is required for substrate hydroxylation under these conditions.     

Reduced flavins promote oxidative DNA damage in non-respiring Escherichia coli by delivering electrons to intracellular free iron

When cells are exposed to external H(2)O(2), the H(2)O(2) rapidly diffuses inside and oxidizes ferrous iron, thereby forming hydroxyl radicals that damage DNA. Thus the process of oxidative DNA damage requires only H(2)O(2), free iron, and an as-yet unidentified electron donor that reduces ferric iron to the ferrous state. Previous work showed that H(2)O(2) kills Escherichia coli especially rapidly when respiration is inhibited either by cyanide or by genetic defects in respiratory enzymes. In this study we established that these respiratory blocks accelerate the rate of DNA damage. The respiratory blocks did not substantially affect the amounts of intracellular free iron or H(2)O(2), indicating that that they accelerated damage because they increased the availability of the electron donor. The goal of this work was to identify that donor. As expected, the respiratory inhibitors caused a large increase in the amount of intracellular NADH. However, NADH itself was a poor reductant of free iron in vitro. This suggests that in non-respiring cells electrons are transferred from NADH to another carrier that directly reduces the iron. Genetic manipulations of the amounts of intracellular glutathione, NADPH, alpha-ketoacids, ferredoxin, and thioredoxin indicated that none of these was the direct electron donor. However, cells were protected from cyanide-stimulated DNA damage if they lacked flavin reductase, an enzyme that transfers electrons from NADH to free FAD. The K(m) value of this enzyme for NADH is much higher than the usual intracellular NADH concentration, which explains why its flux increased when NADH levels rose during respiratory inhibition. Flavins that were reduced by purified flavin reductase rapidly transferred electrons to free iron and drove a DNA-damaging Fenton system in vitro. Thus the rate of oxidative DNA damage can be limited by the rate at which electron donors reduce free iron, and reduced flavins become the predominant donors in E. coli when respiration is blocked. It remains unclear whether flavins or other reductants drive Fenton chemistry in respiring cells.     

Sulfide dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus: a new multifunctional enzyme involved in the reduction of elemental sulfur.

Pyrococcus furiosus is an anaerobic archaeon that grows optimally at 100 degrees C by the fermentation of carbohydrates yielding acetate, CO2, and H2 as the primary products. If elemental sulfur (S0) or polysulfide is added to the growth medium, H2S is also produced. The cytoplasmic hydrogenase of P. furiosus, which is responsible for H2 production with ferredoxin as the electron donor, has been shown to also catalyze the reduction of polysulfide to H2S (K. Ma, R. N. Schicho, R. M. Kelly, and M. W. W. Adams, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:5341-5344, 1993). From the cytoplasm of this organism, we have now purified an enzyme, sulfide dehydrogenase (SuDH), which catalyzes the reduction of polysulfide to H2S with NADPH as the electron donor. SuDH is a heterodimer with subunits of 52,000 and 29,000 Da. SuDH contains flavin and approximately 11 iron and 6 acid-labile sulfide atoms per mol, but no other metals were detected. Analysis of the enzyme by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy indicated the presence of four iron-sulfur centers, one of which was specifically reduced by NADPH. SuDH has a half-life at 95 degrees C of about 12 h and shows a 50% increase in activity after 12 h at 82 degrees C. The pure enzyme has a specific activity of 7 mumol of H2S produced.min-1.mg of protein-1 at 80 degrees C with polysulfide (1.2 mM) and NADPH (0.4 mM) as substrates. The apparent Km values were 1.25 mM and 11 microM, respectively. NADH was not utilized as an electron donor for polysulfide reduction. P. furiosus rubredoxin (K(m) = 1.6 microM) also functioned as an electron acceptor for SuDH, and SuDH catalyzed the reduction of NADP with reduced P. furiosus ferredoxin (K(m) = 0.7 microM) as an electron donor. The multiple activities of SuDH and its proposed role in the metabolism of S(o) and polysulfide are discussed.     

The Regulation of the Plasma Membrane Redox System and H+-transport in Adaptation of Reed Ecotypes to Their Habitats

The redox system and H⁺-transport activities in the plasma membranes from two ecotypes of reed (Phragmites communis Trin.), named swamp reed (SR) and dune reed (DR) according to their habitats, were investigated. Compared to the SR, the DR possessed the very high rates of NADH oxidation and Fe(CN)₆ ^3– and EDTA-Fe³⁺ reduction when NADH was taken as the electron donor. As NADPH was an electron donor, the rate of NADPH oxidation was also significantly higher in the DR than that in the SR. In addition, the H⁺-transport activity in the plasma membranes was also significantly higher in the DR than in the SR.     

Isolation and Characterization of a Soluble NADPH-Dependent Fe(III) Reductase from Geobacter sulfurreducens

NADPH is an intermediate in the oxidation of organic compounds coupled to Fe(III) reduction in Geobacter species, but Fe(III) reduction with NADPH as the electron donor has not been studied in these organisms. Crude extracts of Geobacter sulfurreducens catalyzed the NADPH-dependent reduction of Fe(III)-nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). The responsible enzyme, which was recovered in the soluble protein fraction, was purified to apparent homogeneity in a four-step procedure. Its specific activity for Fe(III) reduction was 65 micromol. min(-1). mg(-1). The soluble Fe(III) reductase was specific for NADPH and did not utilize NADH as an electron donor. Although the enzyme reduced several forms of Fe(III), Fe(III)-NTA was the preferred electron acceptor. The protein possessed methyl viologen:NADP(+) oxidoreductase activity and catalyzed the reduction of NADP(+) with reduced methyl viologen as electron donor at a rate of 385 U/mg. The enzyme consisted of two subunits with molecular masses of 87 and 78 kDa and had a native molecular mass of 320 kDa, as determined by gel filtration. The purified enzyme contained 28.9 mol of Fe, 17.4 mol of acid-labile sulfur, and 0.7 mol of flavin adenine dinucleotide per mol of protein. The genes encoding the two subunits were identified in the complete sequence of the G. sulfurreducens genome from the N-terminal amino acid sequences derived from the subunits of the purified protein. The sequences of the two subunits had about 30% amino acid identity to the respective subunits of the formate dehydrogenase from Moorella thermoacetica, but the soluble Fe(III) reductase did not possess formate dehydrogenase activity. This soluble Fe(III) reductase differs significantly from previously characterized dissimilatory and assimilatory Fe(III) reductases in its molecular composition and cofactor content.     

Purification and properties of biliverdin reductases from pig spleen and rat liver.

Biliverdin reductase was purified from pig spleen soluble fraction to a purity of more than 90% as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was a monomer protein with a molecular weight of about 34,000. Its isoelectric point was at 6.1-6.2. The enzyme was strictly specific to biliverdin and no other oxiodoreductase activities could be detected in the purified enzyme preparation. The purified enzyme could utilize both NADPH and NADH as electron donors for the reduction of biliverdin. However, there were considerable differences in the kinetic properties of the NADPH-dependent and the NADH-dependent biliverdin reductase activities: Km for NADPH was below 5 microM while that for NADH was 1.5-2 mM; the pH optimum of the reaction with NADPH was 8.5 whereas that of the reaction with NADH was 6.9; Km for biliverdin in the NADPH system was 0.3 microM whereas that in the NADH system was 1-2 microM. In addition, both the NADPH-dependent and NADH-dependent activities were inhibited by excess biliverdin, but this inhibition was far more pronounced in the NADPH system than in the NADH system. IX alpha-biliverdin was the most effective substrate among the four biliverdin isomers, and the dimethylester of IX alpha-biliverdin could not serve as a substrate. Biliverdin reductase was also purified about 300-fold from rat liver soluble fraction. The hepatic enzyme was also a monomer protein with a molecular weight of 34,000 and showed properties quite similar to those of the splenic enzyme as regards the biliverdin reductase reaction. The isoelectric point of the hepatic enzyme, however, was about 5.4. It was assumed that NADPH rather than NADH is the physiological electron donor in the intracellular reduction of IX alpha-biliverdin. The stimulatory effects of bovine and human serum albumins on the biliverdin reductase reactions were also examined.     

Studies on the Sulfite Reducing System of Algae

Sulfite reductase using reduced methyl viologen as an electron donor was purified about 94-fold from a red alga, Porphyra yezoensis. The enzyme was ultracentrifugically homogenous and could reduce sulfite to sulfide quantitatively with an uptake of six electrons. The enzyme had a pH optimum in the vicinity of 7.5. The Km for sulfite was determined to be 6.5×l0^?4m. The purified preparation of the algal reductase showed its absorption maximum at 385 mμ and slight shoulders at 408, 456, 485, 600 and 664 mμ in addition to an intense peak at 278 mμ. Metal analysis of the purified enzyme suggested the presence of iron and copper in the molecule. NADPH, NADH or the reduced form of spinach ferredoxin could not be a direct electron donor for the purified algal sulfite reductase.     

Escherichia coli ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase and oxygen-insensitive nitroreductase are capable of functioning as ferric reductase and of driving the Fenton reaction

Two free flavin-independent enzymes were purified by detecting the NAD(P)H oxidation in the presence of Fe(III)-EDTA and t-butyl hydroperoxide from E. coli. The enzyme that requires NADH or NADPH as an electron donor was a 28 kDa protein, and N-terminal sequencing revealed it to be oxygen-insensitive nitroreductase (NfnB). The second enzyme that requires NADPH as an electron donor was a 30 kDa protein, and N-terminal sequencing revealed it to be ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase (Fpr). The chemical stoichiometry of the Fenton activities of both NfnB and Fpr in the presence of Fe(III)-EDTA, NAD(P)H and hydrogen peroxide was investigated. Both enzymes showed a one-electron reduction in the reaction forming hydroxyl radical from hydrogen peroxide. Also, the observed Fenton activities of both enzymes in the presence of synthetic chelate iron compounds were higher than their activities in the presence of natural chelate iron compounds. When the Fenton reaction occurs, the ferric iron must be reduced to ferrous iron. The ferric reductase activities of both NfnB and Fpr occurred with synthetic chelate iron compounds. Unlike NfnB, Fpr also showed the ferric reductase activity on an iron storage protein, ferritin, and various natural iron chelate compounds including siderophore. The Fenton and ferric reductase reactions of both NfnB and Fpr occurred in the absence of free flavin. Although the k _cat/K _m value of NfnB for Fe(III)-EDTA was not affected by free flavin, the k _cat/K _m value of Fpr for Fe(III)-EDTA was 12-times greater in the presence of free FAD than in the absence of free FAD.     

Purification and Characterization of Two Distinct NAD(P)H Dehydrogenases from Onion (Allium cepa L.) Root Plasma Membrane

Highly purified plasma membrane fractions were obtained from onion (Allium cepa L.) roots and used as a source for purification of redox proteins. Plasma membranes solubilized with Triton X-100 contained two distinct polypeptides showing NAD(P)H-dependent dehydrogenase activities. Dehydrogenase I was purified by gel filtration in Sephacryl S-300 HR, ion-exchange chromatography in DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B, and dye-ligand affinity chromatography in Blue-Sepharose CL-6B after biospecific elution with NADH. Dehydrogenase I consisted of a single polypeptide of about 27 kD and an isoelectric point of about 6. Dehydrogenase II was purified from the DEAE-unbound fraction by chromatography in Blue-Sepharose CL-6B and affinity elution with NADH. Dehydrogenase II consisted of a single polypeptide of about 31 kD and an isoelectric point of about 8. Purified dehydrogenase I oxidized both NADPH and NADH, although higher rates of electron transfer were obtained with NADPH. Maximal activity was achieved with NADPH as donor and juglone or coenzyme Q as acceptor. Dehydrogenase II was specific for NADH and exhibited maximal activity with ferricyanide. Optimal pH for both dehydrogenases was about 6. Dehydrogenase I was moderately inhibited by dicumarol, thenoyltrifluoroacetone, and the thiol reagent N-ethyl-maleimide. A strong inhibition of dehydrogenase II was obtained with dicumarol, thenoyltrifluoroacetone, and the thiol reagent p-hydroxymercuribenzoate.     

Bovine heart microsomes contain an Mr = 66,000 non-heme iron protein which stimulates NADPH oxidation

Bovine heart microsomes have been found to contain a non-heme iron protein which serves as an electron acceptor for NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and therefore stimulates NADPH oxidation. This protein, tentatively referred to as Microsomal Iron Protein (MIP), has been extracted with Triton N-101 and purified by ion exchange chromatography on CM- and DEAE-celluloses and gel filtration on Sepharose 6B. MIP is an Mr = 66,000 monomer with 17 atoms of Fe(III)/molecule. Incubation with dithionite removes iron from MIP and abolishes the stimulation of NADPH oxidation, but subsequent incubation with nitrilotriacetic-Fe(III) reincorporates iron and restores the stimulation of NADPH oxidation. Oxygen is the ultimate electron acceptor. In the presence of oxygen, the enzymatic reduction of MIP Fe(III) is followed by the reoxidation of Fe(II) at the expense of oxygen, generating superoxide anion and regenerating MIP Fe(III) for the continuous oxidation of NADPH. In the absence of oxygen, electron transfer from the reductase to MIP Fe(III) causes the release of Fe(II), which limits the ability of MIP to serve as an electron acceptor and stimulate NADPH oxidation. The--NH2-terminal of MIP has been sequenced, and no homology has been found with the sequence of other iron storage or transport proteins such as ferritin or transferrin.     

Purification of NADPH-dependent enoyl-CoA reductase involved in the malonyl-CoA dependent fatty acid elongation system of Mycobacterium smegmatis

NADPH-Dependent enoyl-CoA reductase [EC 1.3.1.8] was purified to homogeneity, for the first time, from the crude extract of Mycobacterium smegmatis. The molecular weight of this enzyme was estimated to be around 32,000 using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme reduced 2-trans-hexadecenoyl-CoA (Km value, 100 microM) and -eicosenoyl-CoA (Km value, 83 microM) almost equally well in the presence of NADPH as a sole electron donor. The Km value for NADPH was 34.5 microM. When NADP3H was incubated with 2-eicosenoyl-CoA and the purified enzyme, the sole tritiated product was arachidate. This enzyme was almost inert to enoyl-CoAs with chains less than 12 carbon atoms long. The purified enzyme still retained FMN, which was detectable by acid ammonium sulfate and was essential for full activity of the enzyme. The enzyme was sensitive to SH-reagents such as N-ethylmaleimide and monoiodoacetamide but was not sensitive to isonicotinamide hydrazide. Anti-NADPH-dependent-enoyl-CoA-reductase rabbit serum was found to inhibit the activities of both the reductase and the malonyl-CoA dependent fatty acid elongation system, supporting the involvement of the reductase in this elongation system.     

Participation of cytochromes in some oxidation-reduction systems in Campylobacter fetus.

Campylobacter species are rich in c-type cytochromes, including forms which bind carbon monoxide. The role of the various forms of cytochromes in Campylobacter fetus has been examined in cell-free preparations by using physiological electron donor and acceptor systems. Under anaerobic conditions, NADPH reduced essentially all of the cytochrome c in crude cell extracts, whereas the reduction level with succinate was 50 to 60%. The carbon monoxide spectrum with NADPH was predominated by the cytochrome c complex; evidence of a cytochrome o type was seen in the succinate-reduced extracts and in membrane fractions. Succinate-reduced cytochrome c was oxidized by oxygen via a cyanide-sensitive, membrane-associated system. NADPH-reduced cytochrome c was oxidized by a cyanide-insensitive system. Partially purified carbon monoxide-binding cytochrome c, isolated from the cytoplasm, could serve as electron acceptor for NADPH-cytochrome c oxidoreductase; the reduced cytochrome was oxidized by oxygen by a cyanide-insensitive system present in the cytoplasmic fraction. Horse heart cytochrome c was also reducible by NADPH and by succinate; the reduced cytochrome was oxidized by a cyanide-sensitive system in the membrane fraction. NADPH and NADH oxidase activities were observed aerobically and under anaerobic conditions with fumarate. NADPH was more active than NADH. NADP was also more effective than NAD as an electron acceptor for the coenzyme A-dependent pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase activities found in crude extracts. These dehydrogenases used methyl viologen and metronidazole as electron acceptors; they could be loci for oxygen inhibition of growth. It is proposed that energy provision via the high-potential cytochrome c oxidase system in the cytoplasmic membrane is limited by oxygen-sensitive primary dehydrogenases and that the carbon monoxide-binding cytochrome c may have a role as an oxygen scavenger.     

Development of NAD(P)H: and NADH:Nitrate Reductase Activities in Soybean Cotyledons

The cotyledons of soybean begin to develop photosynthetic capacity shortly after emergence. The cotyledons develop nitrate reductase (NR) activity in parallel with an increase in chlorophyll and a decrease in protein. In crude extracts of 5- to 8-day-old cotyledons, NR activity is greatest with NADH as electron donor. In extracts of older cotyledons, NR activity is greatest with NADPH. Blue-Sepharose was used to purify and separate the NR activities into two fractions. When the blue-Sepharose was eluted with NADPH, NR activity was obtained which was most active with NADPH as electron donor. Assays of the NADPH-eluted NR with different concentrations of nitrate revealed that the highest activity was obtained in 80 millimolar KNO₃. Thus, this fraction has properties similar to the low nitrate affinity NAD(P)H:NR of soybean leaves. When 5- to 8-day-old cotyledons were extracted and purified, further elution of the blue-Sepharose with KNO₃, subsequent to the NADPH elution, yielded an NR fraction most active with NADH. Assays of this fraction with different nitrate concentrations revealed that this NR had a higher nitrate affinity and was similar to the NADH:NR of soybean leaves. The KNO₃-eluted NR fraction which was purified from the extracts of 9- to 14-day-old cotyledons, was most active with NADPH. The analysis of these fractions prepared from the extracts of older cotyledons indicated that residual NAD(P)H:NR contaminated the NADH:NR. Despite this complication, the pattern of development of the purified NR fractions was consistent with the changes observed in the crude extract NR activities. It was concluded that NADH:NR was most active in young cotyledons and that as the cotyledons aged the NAD(P)H:NR became more active.     

Participation of cytochrome b5 in CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylation in mouse liver cytosol

The activity of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase, that converts CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-NeuAc) to CPM-N-glycolylneuraminic acid (CMP-NeuGc), in mouse liver was determined by a newly developed HPLC method using non-radioactive CMP-NeuAc as a substrate. The activity was detected in the cytosol fraction but not in the microsomal fraction. Either NADH or NADPH was used as an electron donor by the cytosol enzyme, but NADH was much more efficiently used than NADPH. An antibody against cytochrome b5 markedly reduced the CMP-NeuAc hydroxylase activity when added to incubation mixture containing either NADH or NADPH as an electron donor. These data led us to postulate the following electron transport system, which is involved in the CMP-NeuAc hydroxylation in mouse liver cytosol: (formula; see text) where X, Y, and Z are components supposedly involved.