Cloning, expression, and physicochemical characterization of a new diheme cytochrome c from Shewanella baltica OS155

J Biol Inorg Chem. 2011 Mar;16(3):461-71. doi: 10.1007/s00775-010-0742-y. Epub 2010 Dec 16.

Abstract

The 16-kDa diheme cytochrome c from the bacterium Shewanella baltica OS155 (Sb-DHC) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and investigated through UV-vis, magnetic circular dichroism, and (1)H NMR spectroscopies and protein voltammetry. The model structure was obtained by means of comparative modeling using the X-ray structure of Rhodobacter sphaeroides diheme cytochrome c (Rs-DHC) (with a 37% pairwise sequence identity) as a template. Sb-DHC folds into two distinct domains, each containing one heme center with a bis-His axial ligation. Both secondary and tertiary structures of the N-terminal domain resemble those of class I cytochrome c, displaying three α-helices and a compact overall folding. The C-terminal domain is less helical than the corresponding domain of Rs-DHC. The two heme groups are bridged by Tyr26 in correspondence with the shortest edge-to-edge distance, a feature which would facilitate fast internal electron transfer. The electronic properties of the two prosthetic centers are equivalent and sensitive to two acid-base equilibria with pK (a) values of approximately 2.4 and 5, likely corresponding to protonation and detachment of the axial His ligands from the heme iron and a pH-linked conformational change of the protein, respectively. Reduction potentials of -0.144 and -0.257 V (vs. the standard hydrogen electrode), were determined for the C- and N-terminal heme groups, respectively. An approach based on the extended Debye-Hückel equation was applied for the first time to a two-centered metalloprotein and was found to reproduce successfully the ionic strength dependence of E°'.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Electrochemistry
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oxidoreductases / chemistry*
  • Oxidoreductases / genetics
  • Oxidoreductases / metabolism*
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Shewanella / genetics
  • Shewanella / metabolism*
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Oxidoreductases
  • diheme cytochrome c