Carbon monoxide-reacting haemoproteins in the mitochondrial fraction of Acanthamoeba castellanii.

1. Room-temperature (18 degrees C) CO difference spectra of mitochondrial fractions from the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii reveal the presence of at least four CO-reacting haemoproteins. As well as cytochrome a3, other components reacting with CO are: (i) a c-type cytochrome; (ii) a b-type cytochrome; and (iii) another a-type cytochrome. 2. The same components can be identified in low-temperature photodissociation experiments with intact cells or mitochondria. 3. The time of exposure to CO and the nature of the reductant are both important in identifying all the components present, in that the b-type cytochrome is more readily distinguished after longer exposure to CO and more of the c-type cytochrome is detectable when NADH is the reductant 4. Treatment of mitochondria with ultrasound releases two components, identifiable in low-temperature difference spectra as a c-type and a b-type cytochrome; only the latter appears to have any reaction with CO, and the CO-reacting c-type cytochrome is retained in submitochondrial particles. 5. The complexity of the CO-reacting haemoproteins in this organism is compared with the simpler systems found in other eukaryotic organisms.     

Differences in brain cytochrome responses to carbon monoxide and cyanide in vivo

Cytochrome oxidation-reduction responses to two mitochondrial electron transport inhibitors, carbon monoxide (CO) and cyanide (CN), were studied in the intact brains of fluorocarbon-circulated rats. In vivo reflectance spectrophotometry indicated that cortical b-type cytochromes (564 nm) were highly resistant to reduction by CN in the presence of O2 but showed reduction responses to the administration of 1-5% CO in 90% O2. In contrast, cyanide-sensitive cytochromes aa3 (605 nm) and c + c1 (551 nm) did not increase their reduction levels during exposure to 5% CO in 90% O2. The in vivo CO-mediated b-cytochrome reduction responses did not occur after pretreatment with the cytochrome b inhibitor, antimycin A. Transmission spectrophotometry of superfused hemoglobin-free rat brain slices confirmed cortical b-type cytochromes to be CN-resistant in the presence of O2. Another cytochrome absorbing at 445 nm also was resistant to reduction by 1-mM cyanide in vitro, but it could be reduced anaerobically. The reduced 445-nm cytochrome bound CO in the presence of cyanide. We postulate that this CN-resistant CO binding component might account for in vivo cytochrome aa3-CO interactions and directly or indirectly modulate cytochrome b reduction responses to CO. In any event, the spectral data indicate different primary tissue target sites for CO and CN in living rat brain and also suggest different bioenergetic consequences of exposure to the two agents.     

Isolation of a Rhizobium phaseoli cytochrome mutant with enhanced respiration and symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Cultured cells of a Rhizobium phaseoli wild-type strain (CE2) possess b-type and c-type cytochromes and two terminal oxidases: cytochromes o and aa3. Cytochrome aa3 was partially expressed when CE2 cells were grown on minimal medium, during symbiosis, and in well-aerated liquid cultures in a complex medium (PY2). Two cytochrome mutants of R. phaseoli were obtained and characterized. A Tn5-mob-induced mutant, CFN4201, expressed diminished amounts of b-type and c-type cytochromes, showed an enhanced expression of cytochrome oxidases, and had reduced levels of N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine, succinate, and NADH oxidase activities. Nodules formed by this strain had no N2 fixation activity. The other mutant, CFN4205, which was isolated by nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis, had reduced levels of cytochrome o and higher succinate oxidase activity but similar NADH and N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine oxidase activities when compared with the wild-type strain. Strain CFN4205 expressed a fourfold-higher cytochrome aa3 content when cultured on minimal and complex media and had twofold-higher cytochrome aa3 levels during symbiosis when compared with the wild-type strain. Nodules formed by strain CFN4205 fixed 33% more N2 than did nodules formed by the wild-type strain, as judged by the total nitrogen content found in plants nodulated by these strains. Finally, low-temperature photodissociation spectra of whole cells from strains CE2 and CFN4205 reveal cytochromes o and aa3. Both cytochromes react with O2 at -180 degrees C to give a light-insensitive compound. These experiments identify cytochromes o and aa3 as functional terminal oxidases in R. phaseoli.     

The respiratory chain of Paramecium tetraurelia in wild type and the mutant Cl1. I. Spectral properties and redox potentials.

1. Purified mitochondria have been prepared from wild type Paramecium tetraurelia and from the mutant Cl1 which lacks cytochrome aa3. Both mitochondrial preparations are characterized by cyanide insensitivity. Their spectral properties and their redox potentials have been studied. 2. Difference spectra (dithionite reduced minus oxidized) of mitochondria from wild type P. tetraurelia at 77 K revealed the alpha peaks of b-type cytochrome (s) at 553 and 557 nm, of c-type cytochrome at 549 nm and a-type cytochrome at 608 nm. Two alpha peaks at 549 and 545 nm could be distinguished in the isolated cytochrome c at 77 K. After cytochrome c extraction from wild type mitochondria, a new peak at 551 nm was unmasked, probably belonging to cytochdrome c1. The a-type cytochrome was characterized by a split Soret band with maxima at 441 and 450 nm. The mitochondria of the mutant Cl1 in exponential phase of growth differed from the wild type mitochondria in that cytochrome aa3 was absent while twice the quantity of cytochrome b was present. In stationary phase, mitochondria of the mutant were characterized by a new absorption peak at 590 nm. 3. Cytochrome aa3 was present at a concentration of 0.3 nmol/mg protein in wild type mitochondria and ubiquinone at a concentration of 8 nmol/mg protein both in mitochondria of the wild type and the mutant Cl1. Cytochrome aa3 was more susceptible to heat than cytochromes b and c,c1.     

The cytochromes of Acanthamoeba castellanii.

1. Low-temperature difference spectra of gradient-purified mitochondria of Acanthamoeba castellanii reveal the presence of cytochromes b-555, b-562 and c-549, with a-type cytochromes having a broad asymmetrical maximum at 602 nm; these components were also observed in specta of whole cells. 2. The a-type cytochromes are unusual in that they have split Soret absorption maxima (at 442 and 449 nm) and an uncharacteristic CO difference spectrum. 3. CO difference spectra of whole cells and 'microsomal' membranes show large amounts of cytochrome P-420 compared with cytochrome P-450. 4. Difference spectra in the presence of cyanide indicate the presence of an a-type cytochrome and two cyanide-reacting components, one of which may be cytochrome a3. 5. Whole-cell respiration in a N2/O2 (19:1) atmosphere was decreased by 50%, suggesting the presence of a low-affinity oxidase. This lowered respiration is inhibited by 50% by CO, and the inhibition is partially light-reversible; photochemical action spectra suggest that cytochrome a3 contributes to this release of inhibition. Other CO-reacting oxidases are also present. 6. The results are discussed with the view that cytochrome a3 is present in A. castellanii, but its identification in CO difference spectra is obscured by other component(s).     

Characterization and phenotypic control of the cytochrome content of Escherichia coli

1. Electron-transport particles derived from Escherichia coli grown aerobically contain three b-type cytochromes with mid-point oxidation-reduction potentials at pH7 of +260mV, +80mV and -50mV, with n=1 for each. The variation of these values with pH was determined. 2. E. coli develops a different set of b-type cytochromes when grown anaerobically on glycerol with fumarate or nitrate as terminal electron acceptor. Electron-transport particles of fumarate-grown cells contain b-type cytochromes with mid-point potentials at pH7 of +140mV and +250mV (n=1). These two cytochromes are also present in cells grown with nitrate as terminal acceptor, where an additional cytochrome b with a mid-point potential of +10mV (n=1) is developed. 3. The wavelengths of the alpha-absorption-band maxima of the b-type cytochromes at 77K were: (a) for aerobically grown cells, cytochrome b (E(m7) +260mV), 556nm and 563nm, cytochrome b (E(m7) +80mV), 556nm and cytochrome b (E(m7)-50mV), 558nm; (b) for anaerobically grown cells, cytochrome b (E(m7) +250mV), 558nm, cytochrome b (E(m7) +40mV), 555nm and cytochrome b (E(m7) +10mV), 556nm. 4. Cytochrome d was found to have a mid-point potential at pH7 of +280mV (n=1). 5. Cytochrome a(1) was resolved as two components of equal magnitude with mid-point potentials of +260mV and +160mV (n=1). 6. Redox titrations performed in the presence of CO showed that one of the b-type cytochromes in the aerobically grown cultures was reduced, even at the upper limits of our range of electrode potentials (above +400mV). Cytochrome d was also not oxidizable in the presence of CO. Neither of the cytochromes a(1) was affected by the presence of CO.     

Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Ascaridia galli: mitochondrial respiration in free-living and parasitic stages

Aerobic respiratory pathways have been delineated and respiratory efficiency has been assessed in mitochondria isolated from embryonated eggs, infective larvae, and adult Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Ascaridia galli. Mitochondrial respiration in free-living stages of N. brasiliensis is mediated mainly by a mammalian-like antimycin A- and cyanide-sensitive pathway; specific respiratory activity is high and oxidative phosphorylation efficient. In mitochondria of adult N. brasiliensis, antimycin A- and cyanide-sensitive respiration is decreased relative to respiration though an alternative pathway, and specific respiratory activity and mitochondrial efficiency are lower. Respiration in mitochondria from embryonated eggs and tissues of adult A. galli is comparable, and apparently mediated by an antimycin A- and cyanide-insensitive alternative respiratory pathway; no evidence for the presence of a mammalian-like respiratory pathway in embryonated eggs of A. galli was found. The results of this study are compared to mitochondrial respiration in eggs, larvae, and adult body wall muscle of Ascaris suum.     

Cytochrome aa3 from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. A single-subunit, quinol-oxidizing archaebacterial terminal oxidase

The thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (DSM 369) extrudes protons when expending respiratory energy [Moll, R. & Sch?fer, G. (1988) FEBS Lett. 232, 359-363]. Cytochromes of the membrane electron-transport systems are assumed to represent the proton pumps. Only a- and b-type cytochromes can be found; no c-type cytochromes are present. Of the two terminal oxidases [Anemüller, S. & Sch?fer, G. (1989) FEBS Lett. 244, 451-455] one shows an absorption band at 604-605 nm, typical of cytochromes of the aa3 type. This hemoprotein has been solubilized from the membrane and purified to homogeneity. It exhibits distinct differences from known aa3-type oxidases. (a) It consists of a single polypeptide subunit of 38-40 kDa apparent molecular mass with two heme-a molecules and two copper ions. (b) In the oxidized state, absorption maxima are found at 421 nm and 597 nm, and in the reduced state at 439 nm and 601 nm; CO difference spectra suggest one heme to be a heme-a3 centre. (c) The redox potentials of the heme centres are +220 mV and +370 mV, respectively. (d) A high-spin heme signal at g = 6 is present in EPR spectra, which is more prominent than the low-spin heme signal at g = 3, the former already being present in the oxidized state. A signal at g = 2.1 may be due to one of the copper ions and is superimposed upon a minor free radical signal at g = 2. (e) Caldariella quinone was also isolated from the plasma membrane of Sulfolobus. Its redox midpoint potential at pH 6.5 was determined to be +100 (+/- 5) mV; spectral properties have also been determined. (f) The isolated aa3 preparation does not oxidize cytochrome c; however, it oxidizes N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride as an artificial single-electron donor as well as reduced caldariella quinone, which is assumed to represent the natural substrate. The reaction is cyanide-sensitive and the product of oxygen reduction is water. (g) On the basis of the results obtained a novel type of cytochrome aa3 is postulated in this paper which oxidizes reduced quinones; its ability to act as a proton pump remains to be shown.     

Redox properties of membrane-bound b-type cytochromes and a soluble c-type cytochrome of nitrate reductase in a photodenitrifier, Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides forma sp. denitrificans

In order to identify the b-type cytochrome involved in the nitrate reduction in a photodenitrifier, Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides forma sp. denitrificans, the b-type cytochromes in the spheroplast membranes were characterized. Difference spectra at 77K of spheroplast membranes indicated the presence of two b-type cytochromes with a bands at 556.5 and 562 nm. Three components considered to be of the b-type cytochrome were resolved by anaerobic potentiometric titration at 560-572 nm. Their midpoint potentials at pH 7, Em,7, were - 135 mV, +40 mV and +175 nm and their approximate reduced minus oxidized maxima were determined to be at 565 nm (562 nm at 77K), 560 nm (556.5 nm) and 560 nm (556.5 nm), respectively. These values are almost the same as those reported for R. sphaeroides. The Em,7 value of the cytochrome c involved in the nitrate reductase of this denitrifier was determined to be 250 mV. A b-type cytochrome reduced with NADH and FMN was oxidized by nitrate in chromatophore membranes. The possibility that cytochrome b (Em,7 = 175 mV) is involved in the nitrate reduction is discussed.     

Oxygen affinity of the respiratory chain of Acanthamoeba castellanii.

Apparent Km values for O2 for the soil amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii determined polarographically and by bioluminescence gave similar values (0.37 and 0.41 microM respectively). Mitochondria oxidizing succinate or NADH in the presence or absence of ADP gave values in the range 0.21-0.36 microM-O2. Oxidation of respiratory-chain components to 50% of the aerobic steady states in intact cells was observed at the following O2 concentrations: cytochrome aa3, 0.1-0.25 microM; cytochrome c, 0.3-0.6 microM; cytochrome b, 0.35-0.45 microM; flavoprotein, 2 microM. In isolated mitochondria corresponding values for a-, c- and b-type cytochromes were 0.007, 0.035-0.05 and 0.06-0.09 microM-O2. It is concluded that an O2 gradient exists between plasma membrane and mitochondria in A. castellanii.     

Action of rat liver cathepsin L on collagen and other substrates.

1. Mitochondria-enriched fractions of the ciliate protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis ST contained CO-reacting cytochromes b560 and a620. 2. A non-photodissociable oxygen-containing compound of cytochrome a620 was formed in whole cell suspensions at -114 degrees C after photolysis of CO in the presence of 200 microM-O2. 3. Electron transport, indicated by the oxidation of cytochrome a620 and cytochrome c, occurred at temperatures higher than -72 degrees C. 4. Photochemical action spectra for the relief of respiratory inhibition of whole cells by CO obtained by using a liquid dye laser indicate that the only CO-reacting terminal oxidase detectable was cytochrome a620. 5. It is concluded that the alternative electron transport chains in this organism utilize non-cytochrome terminal oxidases.     

Four different b-type cytochromes in the halophilic archaebacterium, Halobacterium halobium

The halophilic archaebacterium, Halobacterium halobium has been found to contain four different b-type cytochromes. The four components were recognized by their potentiometric characteristics in situ in their functional environment in the membrane of H. halobium. Oxidation-reduction midpoint potentials of these four b-type cytochromes were determined to be +261, +160, +30, and -153 mV, respectively. We also demonstrate that the pathway involved in the transport of reducing equivalents from succinate to oxygen proceeds through the b-type cytochromes with oxidation-reduction midpoint potentials of +261 and +161 mV. The cytochrome with oxidation-reduction midpoint potential of -153 mV was not substrate reducible by NADH but was chemically reducible by dithionite. Antimycin inhibits reduction of b-type cytochrome in the succinate pathway, but has no effect on b-type cytochrome reduction when reducing equivalents are provided by NADH. The carbon monoxide difference spectrum of H. halobium membranes shows at least one carbon monoxide-binding b-type cytochrome, indicating a terminal oxidase. A scheme for electron transport in H.halobium involving the b-type cytochromes and terminal oxidase is suggested.     

Catalytic activity of cytochromes c and c1 in mitochondria and submitochondrial particles.

1. Beef heart mitochondria have a cytochrome c1:c:aa3 ratio of 0.65:1.0:1.0 as isolated; Keilin-Hartree submitochondrial particles ahve a ratio of 0.65:0.4:1.0. More than 50% of the submitochondrial particle membrane is in the 'inverted' configuration, shielding the catalytically active cytochrome c. The 'endogenous' cytochrome c of particles turns over at a maximal rate between 450 and 550 s-1 during the oxidation of succinate or ascorbate plus TMPD; the maximal turnover rate for cytochrome c in mitochondria is 300-400 s-1, at 28 degrees-30 degrees C, pH 7.4. 2. Ascorbate plus N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylene diamine added to antimycin-treated particles induces anomalous absorption increases between 555 and 565 nm during the aerobic steady state, which disappear upon anaerobiosis; succinate addition abolishes this cycle and permits the partial resolution of cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c steady states at 552.5-547 nm and 550-556.5 nm, respectively. 3. Cytochrome c1 is rather more reduced than cytochrome c during the oxidation of succinate and of ascorbate + N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylene diamine in both mitochondria and submitochondrial particles; a near equilibrium condition exists between cytochromes c1 and c in the aerobic steady state, with a rate constant for the c1 leads to c reduction step greater than 10(3) s-1. 4. The greater apparent response of the c/aa3 electron transfer step to salts, the hyperbolic inhibition of succinate oxidation by azide and cyanide, and the kinetic behaviour of the succinate-cytochrome c reductase system, are all explicable in terms of a near-equilibrium condition prevailing at the c1/c step. Endogenous cytochrome c of mitochondria and submitochondrial particles is apparently largely bound to cytochrome aa3 units in situ. Cytochrome c1 can either reduce the cytochrome c-cytochrome aa3 complex directly, or requires only a small extra amount of cytochrome c to carry the full electron transfer flux.     

Oxidative titrations of reduced cytochrome aa3: influence of cytochrome c and carbon monoxide on the midpoint potential values.

Oxidative titrations were performed on the electrostatic complex formed between cytochrome c and cytochrome aa3 at low ionic strength. Midpoint potentials of the redox centers in the proteins in 1:1 and 2:1 complexes were compared with those in mixtures of the cytochromes at high ionic strength. Computer simulations of all titrations yielded midpoint potentials for the components of cytochrome aa3 which were consistent with literature values for isolated cytochrome aa3 or mixture of cytochromes c and aa3. However, the unequal heme extinction coefficients observed previously (Schroedl, N.A., and Hartzell, C.R. (1977), Biochemistry 16, 1327) during oxidative titrations of cytochrome aa3 became equal in magnitude under these experimental conditions. The binding of cytochrome c to cytochrome aa3 changed the midpoint potentials of cytochrome aa3 by 15-20 mV, while the midpoint potentials for cytochrome c were altered by 50-60 mV. Careful analysis of these titrations including computer simulation revealed that cytochrome c was able to bind to cytochrome aa3 only after cytochrome aL2+ had become oxidized. When bound to cytochrome aa3, the midpoint potential of cytochrome c was 210 7V. Titrations performed under a carbon monoxide atmosphere revealed cytochrome aa3 midpoint potentials unchanged from reported values. Cytochrome c again exhibited a midpoint potential of 210 mV after binding to cytochrome aa3.     

The development of the respiratory chain of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis during respiratory adaptation

1. Subcellular fractionation of sphaeroplasts produced at different stages during the first 4h of respiratory adaptation of anaerobically grown glucose-de-repressed Saccharomyces carlsbergensis gave mitochondrial fractions that contained all the detectable c- and a-type cytochromes. 2. The rates of cytochrome formation were studied; individual cytochromes were produced at different rates so as to give respiratory chains having widely differing cytochrome ratios. A CO-reacting haemoprotein other than cytochrome a(3) also increased throughout 8h of respiratory adaptation. 3. Even after short periods of aeration, organisms contained mitochondria in which cytochrome-cytochrome interactions and the reaction of cytochrome a(3) with O(2) proceeded at rates almost as fast as in organelles from aerobically grown cells. 4. The technique of flow-flash photolysis enabled kinetic resolution of the reoxidation of cytochromes a(3) and a to be achieved and their individual contributions to extinction changes in the Soret region were assessed. The ratio cytochrome a(3)/cytochrome a increased over the early stages of adaptation.     

Inhibition of electron transfer from ferrocytochrome b to ubiquinone, cytochrome c1 and duroquinone by antimycin.

The effect of antimycin on (i) the respiratory activity of the KCN-insensitive pathway of mitochondria of Neurospora grown on chloramphenicol (chloramphenicol-grown) with durohydroquinone and succinate or NADH as substrate, (ii) the electron transfer from the b-type cytochromes to ubiquinone with durohydroquinone as electron donor as well as (iii) the electron transfer from the b-type cytochromes to duroquinone with succinate as electron donor in chloramphenicol-grown Neurospora and beef heart submitochondrial particles was studied. All experiments were performed in the uncoupled state. 1. The respiratory chain of chloramphenicol-grown Neurospora mitochondria branches at ubiquinone into two pathways. Besides the cytochrome oxidase-dependent pathway, a KCN-insensitive branch equiped with a salicylhydroxamate-sensitive oxidase exists. Durohydroquinone, succinate or NADH are oxidized via both pathways. The durohydroquinone oxidation via the KCN-insensitive pathway is inhibited by antimycin, wheras the succinate or NADH oxidation is not. The titer for ful inhibition is one mol antimycin per mol cytochrome b-563 or cytochrome b-557. 2. The electron transfer from durohydroquinone to ubiquinone, which takes place in the KCN-inhibited state, does not occur in the antimycin-inhibited state. 3. The reduction of duroquinone by succinate in the presence of KCN is inhibited by antimycin. The titer for full inhibition is one mol antimycin per mol cytochrome b-566 or cytochrome b-562 for beef heart (or cytochrome b-563 or cytochrome b-557 for Neurospora). 4. When electron transfer from the b-type cytochromes to cytochrome C1, ubiquinone and duroquinone is inhibited by antimycin, the hemes of cytochrome b-566 and cytochrome b-562 (or cytochrome b-563 and cytochrome b-557) are in the reduced state. 5. The experimental results suggest that the two b-type cytochromes form a binary complex the electron transferring activity of which is inhibited by antimycin, the titer for full inhibition being one mol of antimycin per mol of complex. The electron transfer from the b-type cytochromes to ubiquinone is inhibited in a non-linear fashion.     

Potentiometric titration of cytochrome-bo type quinol oxidase of Escherichia coli: evidence for heme-heme and copper-heme interaction

The cytochrome-bo quinol oxidase of Escherichia coli contains a high-spin b-type heme (cytochrome o), a low-spin b-type heme (cytochrome b) and copper. The EPR signal from cytochrome o is axial high spin and when titrated potentiometrically gives a bell-shaped curve. The low-potential side of this curve (Em7 approx. 160 mV) corresponds to the reduction/oxidation of the cytochrome. The high-potential side (Em7 approx. 350 mV) is proposed to be due to reduction/oxidation of a copper center; in the CuII form tight cytochrome o-copper spin coupling results in a net even spin system and loss of the EPR spectrum. Optical spectra of the alpha-bands of the reduced cytochromes at 77 K show that cytochrome b has its maxima at 564 nm when cytochrome o is oxidized but that this shifts to 561 nm when cytochrome o (max. 555 nm) is reduced. Both a heme-copper (cytochrome o-CuII) and a heme-heme (cytochrome o-cytochrome b) interaction are indicated in this quinol oxidase. These results indicate that cytochrome-bo quinol oxidase has a binuclear heme-copper catalytic site and suggest striking structural similarity to subunit I of the cytochrome aa3 system.     

The electron-transport system of mitochondria from the slime mould Physarum polycephalum

A method is described for the preparation of mitochondria from the slime mould Physarum polycephalum; the mitochondria were not coupled. P. polycephalum mitochondria oxidized added NADH via a rotenone-insensitive pathway, but the oxidation of malate plus glutamate was rotenone sensitive; both of these substrates reduced much less cytochrome b than did succinate, in both aerobic and anaerobic steady states. Spectroscopy at 77 degrees K separated three absorption maxima in the alpha-band region, at 560nm, 553nm and one at 547nm due to cytochrome c. The absorption at 553nm was increased in the aerobic steady state by the addition of 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide, suggesting that it was due to a b-type cytochrome. All three absorption maxima appeared in the aerobic steady state after the addition of a range of substrates. The respiratory activity with different substrates and the response to inhibitors of respiration were similar to those previously described for fungus mitochondria (Weiss et al., 1970; Erickson & Ashworth, 1969). When grown under conditions of haem limitation the mitochondria contained a lower concentration of cytochromes than normal.     

The O2-dependence of respiration and H2O2 production in the parasitic nematode Ascaridia galli.

1. Respiration in the parasitic nematode worm Ascaridia galli was inhibited at O2 concentrations in excess of 255 microM, and an apparent Km,O2 of 174 microM was determined. 2. Mitochondria-enriched fractions isolated from the tissues of A. galli have much lower apparent Km,O2 values (approx. 5 microM). They produce H2O2 in the energized state; higher rates of H2O2 production were observed in the presence of the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. 3. Antimycin A inhibited respiration in muscle tissue mitochondria by 10%, but had no effect on respiration in gut + reproductive tissue mitochondria; the major portion of respiration in both types of mitochondria could be attributed to an alternative electron-transport pathway. 4. o-Hydroxydiphenyl, an inhibitor of alternative electron-transport pathways, inhibits respiration by 98% and completely inhibits the production of H2O2 in gut-plus-reproductive-tissue mitochondria; respiration and H2O2 production in muscle tissue mitochondria were inhibited by 90 and 86% respectively. 5. Another inhibitor of alternative electron transport, salicylhydroxamic acid, had the same effect as o-hydroxydiphenyl on H2O2 production and respiration in gut-plus-reproductive-tissue mitochondria. However, its effect on muscle tissue mitochondria was complex; a low concentration (0.35 mM) stimulated H2O2 production, whereas 3 mM inhibited respiration by 87% and prevented H2O2 production completely. 6. The similarities between the apparent Km,O2 values for H2O2 production and respiration in muscle mitochondria and in gut-plus-reproductive-tissue mitochondria suggests that the site of H2O2 production on the alternative electron-transport chain is cytochrome 'o'. 7. These results are discussed in relation to potential O2 toxicity in A. galli.     

Photochemical action spectra indicate that cytochrome a/a3 is the predominant haemoprotein terminal oxidase in Acanthamoeba castellanii.

1. Room-temperature CO-reduced minus reduced difference spectra of intact cells of Acanthamoeba castellanii show the presence of CO-reacting haemoproteins in cells from the early-exponential, late-exponential and stationary phases of growth. 2. The relative rates of reaction with CO of the two haemoproteins differ; that of cytochrome a/a3 with CO is complete within 1 min of bubbling with CO, whereas that of cytochrome b takes longer than 90 min. 3. Photochemical action spectra reveal cytochrome a/a3 as the predominant haemoprotein oxidase at all stages of growth. 4. It is concluded that the alternative oxidases known to be present in these organisms are not cytochromes.