Insights into Flavin-based Electron Bifurcation via the NADH-dependent Reduced Ferredoxin:NADP Oxidoreductase Structure

NADH-dependent reduced ferredoxin:NADP oxidoreductase (NfnAB) is found in the cytoplasm of various anaerobic bacteria and archaea. The enzyme reversibly catalyzes the endergonic reduction of ferredoxin with NADPH driven by the exergonic transhydrogenation from NADPH onto NAD⁺. Coupling is most probably accomplished via the mechanism of flavin-based electron bifurcation. To understand this process on a structural basis, we heterologously produced the NfnAB complex of Thermotoga maritima in Escherichia coli, provided kinetic evidence for its bifurcating behavior, and determined its x-ray structure in the absence and presence of NADH. The structure of NfnAB reveals an electron transfer route including the FAD (a-FAD), the [2Fe-2S] cluster of NfnA and the FAD (b-FAD), and the two [4Fe-4S] clusters of NfnB. Ferredoxin is presumably docked onto NfnB close to the [4Fe-4S] cluster distal to b-FAD. NAD(H) binds to a-FAD and NADP(H) consequently to b-FAD, which is positioned in the center of the NfnAB complex and the site of electron bifurcation. Arg¹⁸⁷ is hydrogen-bonded to N₅ and O₄ of the bifurcating b-FAD and might play a key role in adjusting a low redox potential of the FADH^•/FAD pair required for ferredoxin reduction. A mechanism of FAD-coupled electron bifurcation by NfnAB is proposed.     

Electron pathways involved in H(2)-metabolism in the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus

The green alga Scenedesmus obliquus is capable of both uptake and production of H(2) after anaerobic adaptation (photoreduction of CO(2) or photohydrogen production). The essential enzyme for H(2)-metabolism is a NiFe-hydrogenase with a [2Fe-2S]-ferredoxin as its natural redox partner. Western blot analysis showed that the hydrogenase is constitutively expressed. The K(m) values were 79.5 microM and 12.5 microM, determined with ferredoxin and H(2), respectively, as electron donor for the hydrogenase. In vitro, NADP(+) was reduced by H(2) in the presence of the hydrogenase, the ferredoxin and a ferredoxin-NADP reductase. From these results and considerations on the stoichiometry we propose that this light-independent electron transfer is part of the photoreduction of CO(2) in vivo. For ATP synthesis, necessary for the photoreduction of CO(2), light-dependent cyclic electron transfer around Photosystem (PS) I accompanies this 'dark reaction'. PS II fluorescence data suggest that (a) in S. obliquus H(2)-reduction might function as the anaerobic counterpart of the O(2)-dependent Mehler reaction, and (b) the presence of either a ferredoxin quinone-reductase or NAD(P)-dehydrogenase (complex I) in S. obliquus chloroplasts.     

Purification and catalytic properties of Ech hydrogenase from Methanosarcina barkeri.

Methanosarcina barkeri has recently been shown to produce a multisubunit membrane-bound [NiFe] hydrogenase designated Ech (Escherichia coli hydrogenase 3) hydrogenase. In the present study Ech hydrogenase was purified to apparent homogeneity in a high yield. The enzyme preparation obtained only contained the six polypeptides which had previously been shown to be encoded by the ech operon. The purified enzyme was found to contain 0.9 mol of Ni, 11.3 mol of nonheme-iron and 10.8 mol of acid-labile sulfur per mol of enzyme. Using the purified enzyme the kinetic parameters were determined. The enzyme catalyzed the H2 dependent reduction of a M. barkeri 2[4Fe-4S] ferredoxin with a specific activity of 50 U x mg protein-1 at pH 7.0 and exhibited an apparent Km for the ferredoxin of 1 microM. The enzyme also catalyzed hydrogen formation with the reduced ferredoxin as electron donor at a rate of 90 U x mg protein-1 at pH 7.0. The apparent Km for the reduced ferredoxin was 7.5 microM. Reduction or oxidation of the ferredoxin proceeded at similar rates as the reduction or oxidation of oxidized or reduced methylviologen, respectively. The apparent Km for H2 was 5 microM. The kinetic data strongly indicate that the ferredoxin is the physiological electron donor or acceptor of Ech hydrogenase. Ech hydrogenase amounts to about 3% of the total cell protein in acetate-grown, methanol-grown or H2/CO2-grown cells of M. barkeri, as calculated from quantitative Western blot experiments. The function of Ech hydrogenase is ascribed to ferredoxin-linked H2 production coupled to the oxidation of the carbonyl-group of acetyl-CoA to CO2 during growth on acetate, and to ferredoxin-linked H2 uptake coupled to the reduction of CO2 to the redox state of CO during growth on H2/CO2 or methanol.     

The synthesis of acetyl-CoA by Clostridium thermoaceticum from carbon dioxide,hydrogen, coenzyme A and methyltetrahydrofolate

It has been demonstrated that enzymes from Clostridium thermoaceticum catalyze the following reaction in which Fd is ferredoxin and CH3THF is methyltetrahydrofolate. (for formula see text). The system involves hydrogenase, CO dehydrogenase, a methyltransferase, a corrinoid enzyme and other unknown components. Hydrogenase catalyzes the reduction of ferredoxin by H2; CO dehydrogenase then uses the reduced ferredoxin to reduce CO2 to a one-carbon intermediate that combines with CoASH and with a methyl group originating from CH3THF to form acetyl-CoA. It is proposed that these reactions are part of the mechanism which enables certain acetogenic autotrophic bacteria to grow on CO2 and H2.     

Electron transfer by ferredoxin:NADP+ reductase. Rapid-reaction evidence for participation of a ternary complex

Rapid reaction studies presented herein show that ferredoxin:NADP+ oxidoreductase (FNR, EC 1.18.1.2) catalyzes electron transfer from spinach ferredoxin (Fd) to NADP+ via a ternary complex, Fd X FNR X NADP+. In the absence of NADP+, reduction of ferredoxin:NADP+ reductase by Fd was much slower than the catalytic rate: 37-80 s-1 versus at least 445 e-s-1; dissociation of oxidized spinach ferredoxin (Fdox) from one-electron reduced ferredoxin:NADP+ reductase (FNRsq) limited the reduction of FNR. This confirms the steady-state kinetic analysis of Masaki et al. (Masaki, R., Yoshikaya, S., and Matsubara, H. (1982) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 700, 101-109). Occupation of the NADP+ binding site of FNR by NADP+ or by 2',5'-ADP (a nonreducible NADP+ analogue) greatly increased the rate of electron transfer from Fd to FNR, releiving inhibition by Fdox. NADP+ (and 2',5'-ADP) probably facilitate the dissociation of Fdox; equilibrium studies have shown that nucleotide binding decreases the association of Fd with FNR (Batie, C. J. (1983) Ph.D. dissertation, Duke University; Batie, C. J., and Kamin, H. (1982) in Flavins and Flavoproteins VII (Massey, V., and Williams, C. H., Jr., eds) pp. 679-683, Elsevier, New York; Batie, C.J., and Kamin, H. (1982) Fed. Proc. 41, 888; and Batie, C.J., and Kamin, H. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 8832-8839). Premixing Fd with FNR was found to inhibit the reaction of the flavoprotein with NADP+ and with NADPH; thus, substrate binding may be ordered, NADP+ first, then Fd. FNRred and NADP+ very rapidly formed an FNRred X NADP+ complex with flavin to nicotinamide charge transfer bands. The Fdred X NADP+ complex then relaxed to an equilibrium species; the spectrum indicated a predominance of FNRox X NADPH charge-transfer complex. However, charge-transfer species were not observed during turnover; thus, their participation in catalysis of electron transfer from Fd to NADP+ remains uncertain. The catalytic rate of Fd to NADP+ electron transfer, as well as the rates of electron transfer from Fd to FNR, and from FNR to NADP+ were decreased when the reactants were in D2O; diaphorase activity was unaffected by solvent. On the basis of the data presented, a scheme for the catalytic mechanism of catalysis by FNR is presented.     

X-ray crystallographic and solution state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic investigations of NADP+ binding to ferredoxin NADP reductase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The ferredoxin nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reductase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( pa-FPR) in complex with NADP (+) has been characterized by X-ray crystallography and in solution by NMR spectroscopy. The structure of the complex revealed that pa-FPR harbors a preformed NADP (+) binding pocket where the cofactor binds with minimal structural perturbation of the enzyme. These findings were complemented by obtaining sequential backbone resonance assignments of this 29518 kDa enzyme, which enabled the study of the pa-FPR-NADP complex by monitoring chemical shift perturbations induced by addition of NADP (+) or the inhibitor adenine dinucleotide phosphate (ADP) to pa-FPR. The results are consistent with a preformed NADP (+) binding site and also demonstrate that the pa-FPR-NADP complex is largely stabilized by interactions between the protein and the 2'-P AMP portion of the cofactor. Analysis of the crystal structure also shows a vast network of interactions between the two cofactors, FAD and NADP (+), and the characteristic AFVEK (258) C'-terminal extension that is typical of bacterial FPRs but is absent in their plastidic ferredoxin NADP (+) reductase (FNR) counterparts. The conformations of NADP (+) and FAD in pa-FPR place their respective nicotinamide and isoalloxazine rings 15 A apart and separated by residues in the C'-terminal extension. The network of interactions among NADP (+), FAD, and residues in the C'-terminal extension indicate that the gross conformational rearrangement that would be necessary to place the nicotinamide and isoalloxazine rings parallel and adjacent to one another for direct hydride transfer between NADPH and FAD in pa-FPR is highly unlikely. This conclusion is supported by observations made in the NMR spectra of pa-FPR and the pa-FPR-NADP complex, which strongly suggest that residues in the C'-terminal sequence do not undergo conformational exchange in the presence or absence of NADP (+). These findings are discussed in the context of a possible stepwise electron-proton-electron transfer of hydride in the oxidation of NADPH by FPR enzymes.     

Purification and characterization of ferredoxin-NAD(P)(+) reductase from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum

Ferredoxin-NAD(P)(+) reductase [EC 1.18.1.3, 1.18.1.2] was isolated from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum and purified to homogeneity. The molecular mass of the subunit is 42 kDa, as deduced by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The molecular mass of the native enzyme is approximately 90 kDa, estimated by gel-permeation chromatography, and is thus a homodimer. The enzyme contains one FAD per subunit and has absorption maxima at about 272, 385, and 466 nm. In the presence of ferredoxin (Fd) and reaction center (RC) complex from C. tepidum, it efficiently catalyzes photoreduction of both NADP(+) and NAD(+). When concentrations of NADP(+) exceeded 10 microM, NADP(+) photoreduction rates decreased with increased concentration. The inhibition by high concentrations of substrate was not observed with NAD(+). It also reduces 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol (DPIP) and molecular oxygen with either NADPH or NADH as efficient electron donors. It showed NADPH diaphorase activity about two times higher than NADH diaphorase activity in DPIP reduction assays at NAD(P)H concentrations less than 0.1 mM. At 0.5 mM NAD(P)H, the two activities were about the same, and at 1 mM, the former activity was slightly lower than the latter.     

FAD assembly and thylakoid membrane binding of ferredoxin:NADP+ oxidoreductase in chloroplasts

We investigated the process of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) incorporation into the ferredoxin (Fd):NADP(+) oxidoreductase (FNR) polypeptide during FNR biosynthesis, using pull-down assay with resin-immobilized Fd which bound strongly to FAD-assembled holo-FNR, but hardly to FAD-deficient apo-FNR. After FNR precursor was imported into isolated chloroplasts and processed to the mature size, the molecular form pulled down by Fd-resin increasingly appeared. The mature-sized FNR (mFNR) accumulated transiently in the stroma as the apo-form, and subsequently bound on the thylakoid membranes as the holo-form. Thus, FAD is incorporated into the mFNR inside chloroplasts, and this assembly process is followed by the thylakoid membrane localization of FNR.     

Demonstration of hydrogenase in extracts of the homoacetate-fermenting bacterium Clostridium thermoaceticum.

Cell-free extracts of the homoacetate-fermenting bacterium Clostridium thermoaceticum were shown to catalyze the hydrogen-dependent reduction of various artificial electron acceptors. The activity of the hydrogenase was optimal at pH 8.5 to 9 and was extremely sensitive to aeration. EDTA did not significantly reduce the liability of the enzymic activity to oxidation (aeration). At 50 degrees C, when both methyl viologen and hydrogen were at saturating concentrations with respect to hydrogenase, the specific activity of cell-free extracts approximated 4 mumol of H2 oxidized per min per mg of protein; fourfold higher specific activities were obtained when benzyl viologen was utilized as an electron acceptor. Activity stains of polyacrylamide gels demonstrated the presence of a single hydrogenase band, suggesting that the catalytic activity in cell extracts was due to a single enzyme. The activity was stable for at least 32 min at 55 degrees C but was slowly inactivated at 70 degrees C. NAD, NADP, flavin adenine dinucleotide, flavin mononucleotide, and ferredoxin were not significantly reduced, but possible reduction of the particulate b-type cytochrome of C. thermoaceticum was observed. NaCl, sodium dodecyl sulfate, iodoacetamide, and CO were shown to inhibit catalysis. A kinetic study is presented, and the possible physiologic roles for hydrogenase in C. thermoaceticum ar discussed.     

Role of the C-terminal tyrosine of ferredoxin-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reductase in the electron transfer processes with its protein partners ferredoxin and flavodoxin

The catalytic mechanism proposed for ferredoxin-NADP(+) reductase (FNR) is initiated by reduction of its flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) cofactor by the obligatory one-electron carriers ferredoxin (Fd) or flavodoxin (Fld) in the presence of oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP(+)). The C-terminal tyrosine of FNR, which stacks onto its flavin ring, modulates the enzyme affinity for NADP(+)/H, being removed from this stacking position during turnover to allow productive docking of the nicotinamide and hydride transfer. Due to its location at the substrate-binding site, this residue might also affect electron transfer between FNR and its protein partners. We therefore studied the interactions and electron-transfer properties of FNR proteins mutated at their C-termini. The results obtained with the homologous reductases from pea and Anabaena PCC7119 indicate that interactions with Fd or Fld are hardly affected by replacement of this tyrosine by tryptophan, phenylalanine, or serine. In contrast, electron exchange is impaired in all mutants, especially in the nonconservative substitutions, without major differences between the eukaryotic and the bacterial FNR. Introduction of a serine residue shifts the flavin reduction potential to less negative values, whereas semiquinone stabilization is severely hampered, introducing further constraints to the one-electron-transfer processes. Thus, the C-terminal tyrosine of FNR plays distinct and complementary roles during the catalytic cycle, (i) by lowering the affinity for NADP(+)/H to levels compatible with steady-state turnover, (ii) by contributing to the flavin semiquinone stabilization required for electron splitting, and (iii) by modulating the rates of electron exchange with the protein partners.     

Ferredoxin:NADP+ oxidoreductase. Equilibria in binary and ternary complexes with NADP+ and ferredoxin

Ferredoxin:NADP+ oxidoreductase (ferredoxin: NADP+ reductase, EC 1.18.1.2) was shown to form a ternary complex with its substrates ferredoxin (Fd) and NADP(H), but the ternary complex was less stable than the separate binary complexes. Kd for oxidized binary Fd-ferredoxin NADP+ reductase complex was less than 50 nM; Kd(Fd) increased with NADP+ concentration, approaching 0.5-0.6 microM when the flavoprotein was saturated with NADP+ K(NADP+) also increased from about 14 microM to about 310 microM, on addition of excess Fd. The changes in Kd were consistent with negative cooperativity between the associations of Fd and NADP+ and with our unpublished observations which suggest that product dissociation is rate-limiting in the reaction mechanism. Similar interference in binding was observed in more reduced states; NADPH released much ferredoxin:NADP+ reductase from Fd-Sepharose whether the proteins were initially oxidized or reduced. Complexation between Fd and ferredoxin: NADP+ reductase was found to shield each center from paramagnetic probes; charge specificity suggested that the active sites of Fd and ferredoxin:NADP+ reductase were, respectively, negatively and positively charged.     

Analysis of reductant supply systems for ferredoxin-dependent sulfite reductase in photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic organs of maize

Sulfite reductase (SiR) catalyzes the reduction of sulfite to sulfide in chloroplasts and root plastids using ferredoxin (Fd) as an electron donor. Using purified maize (Zea mays L.) SiR and isoproteins of Fd and Fd-NADP(+) reductase (FNR), we reconstituted illuminated thylakoid membrane- and NADPH-dependent sulfite reduction systems. Fd I and L-FNR were distributed in leaves and Fd III and R-FNR in roots. The stromal concentrations of SiR and Fd I were estimated at 1.2 and 37 microM, respectively. The molar ratio of Fd III to SiR in root plastids was approximately 3:1. Photoreduced Fd I and Fd III showed a comparable ability to donate electrons to SiR. In contrast, when being reduced with NADPH via FNRs, Fd III showed a several-fold higher activity than Fd I. Fd III and R-FNR showed the highest rate of sulfite reduction among all combinations tested. NADP(+) decreased the rate of sulfite reduction in a dose-dependent manner. These results demonstrate that the participation of Fd III and high NADPH/NADP(+) ratio are crucial for non-photosynthetic sulfite reduction. In accordance with this view, a cysteine-auxotrophic Escherichia coli mutant defective for NADPH-dependent SiR was rescued by co-expression of maize SiR with Fd III but not with Fd I.     

Pyruvate Metabolism in Sarcina maxima

The mechanisms of pyruvate cleavage and hydrogen production by Sarcina maxima were studied. It was found that a phosphoroclastic system for pyruvate oxidation, similar to that occurring in saccharolytic clostridia, is present in S. maxima. Cleavage of pyruvate by extracts of the latter organism resulted in the formation of acetyl phosphate, CO(2), and electrons which were transferred to ferredoxin. Formate was not an intermediate in this system. Pyruvate oxidation was coupled with ferredoxin-dependent nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) reduction. A hydrogenase, active in particulate extracts of S. maxima, did not accept electrons from reduced ferredoxin. Formate was detected as a fermentation product when S. maxima was grown in media buffered with CaCO(3). Whole cells and extracts degraded formate to H(2) and CO(2). The evidence suggests that electrons generated by ferredoxin-linked pyruvate oxidation by S. maxima are not used for H(2) production, but that they serve for the reduction of NADP. Reduced NADP may be utilized by the organisms for synthesis of cell material. Production of H(2) by S. maxima may occur through a pyruvate clastic system similar to that present in coliform bacteria.     

Oxalate metabolism by the acetogenic bacterium Moorella thermoacetica

Whole-cell and cell-extract experiments were performed to study the mechanism of oxalate metabolism in the acetogenic bacterium Moorella thermoacetica. In short-term, whole-cell assays, oxalate consumption was low unless cell suspensions were supplemented with CO(2), KNO(3), or Na(2)S(2)O(3). Cell extracts catalyzed the oxalate-dependent reduction of benzyl viologen. Oxalate consumption occurred concomitant to benzyl viologen reduction; when benzyl viologen was omitted, oxalate was not appreciably consumed. Based on benzyl viologen reduction, specific activities of extracts averaged 0.6 micromol oxalate oxidized min(-1) mg protein(-1). Extracts also catalyzed the formate-dependent reduction of NADP(+); however, oxalate-dependent reduction of NADP(+) was negligible. Oxalate- or formate-dependent reduction of NAD(+) was not observed. Addition of coenzyme A (CoA), acetyl-CoA, or succinyl-CoA to the assay had a minimal effect on the oxalate-dependent reduction of benzyl viologen. These results suggest that oxalate metabolism by M. thermoacetica requires a utilizable electron acceptor and that CoA-level intermediates are not involved.     

Partial purification of ferredoxin from Ruminococcus albus and its role in pyruvate metabolism and reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide by H2.

Extracts of Ruminococcus albus were not able to convert pyruvate to acetyl phosphate, CO2, and H2 after passage through a diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose column. Activity was restored by a brown protein fraction eluted from the column with 0.4 M Cl-. The protein was partially purified and shown to have the spectral and biological characteristics of ferredoxin. R. albus ferredoxin, Clostridium pasteurianum ferredoxin, and methyl viologen restored activity for pyruvate decomposition by DEAE-cellulose-treated R. albus extracts. R. albus or C. pasteurianum ferredoxin restored the ability of DEAE-cellulose-treated C. pasteurianum extracts to form H2 and acetyl phosphate from pyruvate. Ferredoxin-free extracts of R. albus reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) when supplemented with R. albus or C. pasteurianum ferredoxin or with methyl viologen. These extracts reduced NADP with H2 poorly unless both ferredoxin and NAD were added, which indicates the presence of an NADH:NADP transhydrogenase. Flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide were rapidly reduced by H2 by ferredoxin-free extracts in the absence of ferredoxin.     

Refined X-ray structures of the oxidized, at 1.3 A, and reduced, at 1.17 A, [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin from the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC7119 show redox-linked conformational changes

The chemical sequence of the [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin from the cyanobacterium AnabaenaPCC7119 (Fd7119) and its high-resolution X-ray structures in the oxidized and reduced states have been determined. The Fd7119 sequence is identical to that of the ferredoxin from the PCC7120 strain (Fd7120). X-ray diffraction data were collected at 100 K with an oxidized trigonal Fd7119 crystal, at 1.3 A resolution, and with an orthorhombic crystal, previously reduced with dithionite and flash frozen under anaerobic conditions, at 1.17 A resolution. The two molecular models were determined by molecular replacement with the [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin from the strain PCC7120 (Rypniewski, W. R., Breiter, D. R., Benning, M. M., Wesenberg, G., Oh, B.-H., Markley, J. L., Rayment, I., and Holden, H. M. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 4126-4131.) The final R-factors are 0. 140 (for the reduced crystal) and 0.138 (for the oxidized crystal). The [2Fe-2S] cluster appears as a significantly distorted lozenge in the reduced and oxidized redox states. The major conformational difference between the two redox forms concerns the peptide bond linking Cys46 and Ser47 which points its carbonyl oxygen away from the [2Fe-2S] cluster ("CO out") in the reduced molecule and toward it ("CO in") in the oxidized one. The "CO out" conformation could be the signature of the reduction of the iron atom Fe1, which is close to the molecular surface. Superposition of the three crystallographically independent molecules shows that the putative recognition site with the physiological partner (FNR) involves charged, hydrophobic residues and invariant water molecules.     

How neutral red modified carbon and electron flow in Clostridium acetobutylicum grown in chemostat culture at neutral pH

Abstract: The metabolism of Clostridium acetobutylicum was manipulated, at neutral pH and in chemostat culture, by the addition of Neutral red, a molecule that can replace ferredoxin in the oxido-reduction reactions catalysed by the enzymes involved in the distribution of the electron flow. Cultures grown on glucose alone produced mainly acids while cultures grown on glucose plus Neutral red produced mainly alcohols and butyrate and low levels of hydrogen. We demonstrated that just after addition of Neutral red to an acidogenic culture, the simultaneous utilizations of ferredoxin and dye deviate electron flow from hydrogen to NADH production initially by the enzymatic regulation of in vivo hydrogenase and ferredoxin NAD reductase activities. The higher NAD(P)H pool generated might, thereafter, be the signal for the setting up of a new metabolism. In the resulting steady-state, the NAD(P)H 'pressure' is maintained by high ferredoxin NAD and NADP reductases level associated to a low NADH ferredoxin reductase level. The regeneration of NAD is mainly achieved via the induced or increased NADH-dependent aldehyde and alcohol dehydrogenase activities.     

A Bacterial Electron-bifurcating Hydrogenase

The Wood-Ljungdahl pathway of anaerobic CO(2) fixation with hydrogen as reductant is considered a candidate for the first life-sustaining pathway on earth because it combines carbon dioxide fixation with the synthesis of ATP via a chemiosmotic mechanism. The acetogenic bacterium Acetobacterium woodii uses an ancient version of the pathway that has only one site to generate the electrochemical ion potential used to drive ATP synthesis, the ferredoxin-fueled, sodium-motive Rnf complex. However, hydrogen-based ferredoxin reduction is endergonic, and how the steep energy barrier is overcome has been an enigma for a long time. We have purified a multimeric [FeFe]-hydrogenase from A. woodii containing four subunits (HydABCD) which is predicted to have one [H]-cluster, three [2Fe2S]-, and six [4Fe4S]-clusters consistent with the experimental determination of 32 mol of Fe and 30 mol of acid-labile sulfur. The enzyme indeed catalyzed hydrogen-based ferredoxin reduction, but required NAD(+) for this reaction. NAD(+) was also reduced but only in the presence of ferredoxin. NAD(+) and ferredoxin reduction both required flavin. Spectroscopic analyses revealed that NAD(+) and ferredoxin reduction are strictly coupled and that they are reduced in a 1:1 stoichiometry. Apparently, the multimeric hydrogenase of A. woodii is a soluble energy-converting hydrogenase that uses electron bifurcation to drive the endergonic ferredoxin reduction by coupling it to the exergonic NAD(+) reduction.     

Effects of elemental sulfur on the metabolism of the deep-sea hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus strain ES-1: characterization of a sulfur-regulated, non-heme iron alcohol dehydrogenase.

The strictly anaerobic archaeon Thermococcus strain ES-1 was recently isolated from near a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. It grows at temperatures up to 91 degrees C by the fermentation of peptides and reduces elemental sulfur (S(o)) to H2S. It is shown here that the growth rates and cell yields of strain ES-1 are dependent upon the concentration of S(o) in the medium, and no growth was observed in the absence of S(o). The activities of various catabolic enzymes in cells grown under conditions of sufficient and limiting S(o) concentrations were investigated. These enzymes included alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH); formate benzyl viologen oxidoreductase; hydrogenase; glutamate dehydrogenase; alanine dehydrogenase; aldehyde ferredoxin (Fd) oxidoreductase; formaldehyde Fd oxidoreductase; and coenzyme A-dependent, Fd-linked oxidoreductases specific for pyruvate, indolepyruvate, 2-ketoglutarate, and 2-ketoisovalerate. Of these, changes were observed only with ADH, formate benzyl viologen oxidoreductase, and hydrogenase, the specific activities of which all dramatically increased in cells grown under S(o) limitation. This was accompanied by increased amounts of H2 and alcohol (ethanol and butanol) from cultures grown with limiting S(o). Such cells were used to purify ADH to electrophoretic homogeneity. ADH is a homotetramer with a subunit M(r) of 46,000 and contains 1 g-atom of Fe per subunit, which, as determined by electron paramagnetic resonance analyses, is present as a mixture of ferrous and ferric forms. No other metals or acid-labile sulfide was detected by colorimetric and elemental analyses. ADH utilized NADP(H) as a cofactor and preferentially catalyzed aldehyde reduction. It is proposed that, under So limitation, ADH reduces to alcohols the aldehydes that are generated by fermentation, thereby serving to dispose of excess reductant.