The first component of the mitochondrial electron transport chain is respiratory complex I. Several high-resolution structures of complex I from different species have been resolved. However, despite these significant achievements, the mechanism of redox-coupled proton pumping remains elusive. Here, we combined atomistic docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and site-directed mutagenesis on respiratory complex I from Yarrowia lipolytica to identify a quinone (Q)-binding site on its surface near the horizontal amphipathic helices of ND1 and NDUFS7 subunits. The surface-bound Q makes stable interactions with conserved charged and polar residues, including the highly conserved Arg72 from the NDUFS7 subunit. The binding and dynamics of a Q molecule at the surface-binding site raise interesting possibilities about the mechanism of complex I, which are discussed.
Keywords: bioenergetics; complex I; dynamics simulations; mitochondrial respiratory chain; molecular.
© 2022 The Authors. FEBS Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies.