The Paracoccus denitrificans cytochrome aa3 has a third subunit

The presence of a third polypeptide subunit in Paracoccus cytochrome c oxidase is demonstrated. This protein (apparent molecular mass 23 kDa) binds dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in membranes of aerobically grown bacteria and in the purified enzyme. The N-terminal amino-acid sequence of this dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-binding protein is identical to the deduced sequence of the COIII gene product [Raitio et al. (1987) EMBO J. 6, 2825-2833]. We conclude that the aa3-type oxidase in Paracoccus is composed of at least three subunits, which correspond to the three mitochondrially coded polypeptides in the eukaryotic enzyme.