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Das D, El Housseini W, Brachi M, Minteer SD, Miller AF. Electrochemical Observation and pH Dependence of All Three Expected Redox Couples in an Extremophilic Bifurcating Electron Transfer Flavoprotein with Fused Subunits. JACS AU 2025; 5:1689-1706. [PMID: 40313841 PMCID: PMC12042025 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.4c01219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2024] [Revised: 02/22/2025] [Accepted: 03/17/2025] [Indexed: 05/03/2025]
Abstract
Bifurcating enzymes employ energy from a favorable electron transfer to drive unfavorable transfer of a second electron, thereby generating a more reactive product. They are therefore highly desirable in catalytic systems, for example, to drive challenging reactions such as nitrogen fixation. While most bifurcating enzymes contain air-sensitive metal centers, bifurcating electron transfer flavoproteins (bETFs) employ flavins. However, they have not been successfully deployed on electrodes. Herein, we demonstrate immobilization and expected thermodynamic reactivity of a bETF from a hyperthermophilic archaeon, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (SaETF). SaETF differs from previously biochemically characterized bETFs in being a single protein, representing a concatenation of the two subunits of known ETFs. However, SaETF retains the chemical properties of heterodimeric bETFs, including possession of two FADs: one that undergoes sequential 1-electron (1e) reductions at high E° and forms an anionic semiquinone, and another that is amenable to lower-E° 2e reduction, including by NADH. We found homologous monomeric ETF genes in archaeal and bacterial genomes, accompanied by genes that also commonly flank heterodimeric ETFs, and SaETF's sequence conservation is 50% higher with bETFs than with canonical ETFs. Thus, SaETF is best described as a bETF. Our direct electrochemical trials capture reversible redox couples for all three thermodynamically expected redox events. We document electrochemical activity over a range of pH values and reveal a conformational change coupled to proton acquisition that affects the electrochemical activity of the higher-E° FAD. Thus, this well-behaved monomeric bETF opens the door to bioinspired bifurcating devices or bifurcation on a chip.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debarati Das
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0055, United States
| | - Wassim El Housseini
- Kummer
Institute Center for Resource Sustainability, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri 65409, United States
| | - Monica Brachi
- Kummer
Institute Center for Resource Sustainability, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri 65409, United States
| | - Shelley D. Minteer
- Kummer
Institute Center for Resource Sustainability, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri 65409, United States
| | - Anne-Frances Miller
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0055, United States
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Khan SA, Hicks A, Leite WC, Byrnes J, Gorai B, Mroginski MA, O'Neill H, Miller AF. Extended conformations of bifurcating electron transfer flavoprotein constitute up to half the population, possibly mediating conformational change. Chem Sci 2024:d4sc04544k. [PMID: 39512923 PMCID: PMC11536132 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc04544k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2024] [Accepted: 10/15/2024] [Indexed: 11/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Electron transfer bifurcation enables biological systems to drive unfavourable (endergonic) electron transfer by coupling it to favourable (exergonic) transfer of a second electron. In electron transfer flavoproteins (ETFs), a domain-scale conformational change is believed to sever the favourable pathway after a single electron has used it, thereby preventing the energy dissipation that would accompany exergonic transfer of the second electron. To understand the conformation change that participates in turnover, we have deployed small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and computational techniques to characterize the bifurcating ETF from Acidaminococcus fermentans (AfeETF). SANS data reveal an overall radius of gyration (R g) of 30.1 ± 0.2 Å and a maximum dimension (D max) of 100 Å for oxidized AfeETF. These measurements are 4 Å and 30 Å larger, respectively, than those of any published bifurcating ETF structure. Thus, we find that none of the reported ETF structures can explain the observed scattering, nor can any individual conformation generated by either of our molecular dynamics protocols. To optimize ensembles best able to explain the SANS data, we adapted a genetic algorithm. Successful ensembles contained a compact conformation comparable to one of the crystallographically documented conformations, accompanied by a much more extended one, and these two conformations sufficed to account for the data. The extended conformations identified all have R gs at least 4 Å larger than those of any currently published ETF structures. However, they are strongly populated, constituting 20% of the population of reduced ETF and over 50% of the population of oxidized AfeETF. Thus, the published (compact) structures provide a seriously incomplete picture of the conformation of AfeETF in solution. Moreover, because the composition of the conformational ensemble changes upon reduction of AfeETF's flavins, interconversion of the conformations may contribute to turnover. We propose that the extended conformations can provide energetically accessible paths for rapid interconversion of the open and closed compact conformations that are believed essential at alternating points in turnover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharique A Khan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky Lexington KY 40506 USA
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - Alan Hicks
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - Wellington C Leite
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
| | - James Byrnes
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY 11973 USA
| | - Biswajit Gorai
- Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin 10623 Berlin Germany
| | | | - Hugh O'Neill
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN 37831 USA
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Lemen D, Rokita SE. Polar Interactions between Substrate and Flavin Control Iodotyrosine Deiodinase Function. Biochemistry 2024; 63:2380-2389. [PMID: 39213510 PMCID: PMC11408085 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.4c00357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Flavin cofactors offer a wide range of chemical mechanisms to support a great diversity in catalytic function. As a corollary, such diversity necessitates careful control within each flavoprotein to limit its function to an appropriate subset of possible reactions and substrates. This task falls to the protein environment surrounding the flavin in most enzymes. For iodotyrosine deiodinase that catalyzes a reductive dehalogenation of halotyrosines, substrates can dictate the chemistry available to the flavin. Their ability to stabilize the necessary one-electron reduced semiquinone form of flavin strictly depends on a direct coordination between the flavin and α-ammonium and carboxylate groups of its substrates. While perturbations to the carboxylate group do not significantly affect binding to the resting oxidized form of the deiodinase, dehalogenation (kcat/Km) is suppressed by over 2000-fold. Lack of the α-ammonium group abolishes detectable binding and dehalogenation. Substitution of the ammonium group with a hydroxyl group does not restore measurable binding but does support dehalogenation with an efficiency greater than those of the carboxylate derivatives. Consistent with these observations, the flavin semiquinone does not accumulate during redox titration in the presence of inert substrate analogues lacking either the α-ammonium or carboxylate groups. As a complement, a nitroreductase activity based on hydride transfer is revealed for the appropriate substrates with perturbations to their zwitterion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Lemen
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Steven E Rokita
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
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Das D, Miller AF. A single hydrogen bond that tunes flavin redox reactivity and activates it for modification. Chem Sci 2024; 15:7610-7622. [PMID: 38784750 PMCID: PMC11110160 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc01642d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Electron bifurcation produces high-energy products based on less energetic reagents. This feat enables biological systems to exploit abundant mediocre fuel to drive vital but demanding reactions, including nitrogen fixation and CO2 capture. Thus, there is great interest in understanding principles that can be portable to man-made devices. Bifurcating electron transfer flavoproteins (Bf ETFs) employ two flavins with contrasting reactivities to acquire pairs of electrons from a modest reductant, NADH. The bifurcating flavin then dispatches the electrons individually to a high and a low reduction midpoint potential (E°) acceptor, the latter of which captures most of the energy. Maximum efficiency requires that only one electron accesses the exergonic path that will 'pay for' the production of the low-E° product. It is therefore critical that one of the flavins, the 'electron transfer' (ET) flavin, is tuned to execute single-electron (1e-) chemistry only. To learn how, and extract fundamental principles, we systematically altered interactions with the ET-flavin O2 position. Removal of a single hydrogen bond (H-bond) disfavored the formation of the flavin anionic semiquinone (ASQ) relative to the oxidized (OX) state, lowering by 150 mV and retuning the flavin's tendency for 1e-vs. 2e- reactivity. This was achieved by replacing conserved His 290 with Phe, while also replacing the supporting Tyr 279 with Ile. Although this variant binds oxidized FADs at 90% the WT level, the ASQ state of the ET-flavin is not stable in the absence of H290's H-bond, and dissociates, in contrast to the WT. Removal of this H-bond also altered the ET-flavin's covalent chemistry. While the WT ETF accumulates modified flavins whose formation is believed to rely on an anionic paraquinone methide intermediate, the FADs of the H-bond lacking variant remain unchanged over weeks. Hence the variant that destabilizes the anionic semiquinone also suppresses the anionic intermediate in flavin modification, verifying electronic similarities between these two species. These correlations suggest that the H-bond that stabilizes the crucial flavin ASQ also promotes flavin modification. The two effects may indeed be inseparable, as a Jekyll and Hydrogen bond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debarati Das
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky USA
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Feng X, Schut GJ, Adams MWW, Li H. Structures and Electron Transport Paths in the Four Families of Flavin-Based Electron Bifurcation Enzymes. Subcell Biochem 2024; 104:383-408. [PMID: 38963493 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-58843-3_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Oxidoreductases facilitating electron transfer between molecules are pivotal in metabolic pathways. Flavin-based electron bifurcation (FBEB), a recently discovered energy coupling mechanism in oxidoreductases, enables the reversible division of electron pairs into two acceptors, bridging exergonic and otherwise unfeasible endergonic reactions. This chapter explores the four distinct FBEB complex families and highlights a decade of structural insights into FBEB complexes. In this chapter, we discuss the architecture, electron transfer routes, and conformational changes across all FBEB families, revealing the structural foundation that facilitate these remarkable functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Feng
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Gerrit J Schut
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Michael W W Adams
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Huilin Li
- Department of Structural Biology, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
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Ge X, Schut GJ, Tran J, Poole II FL, Niks D, Menjivar K, Hille R, Adams MWW. Characterization of the Membrane-Associated Electron-Bifurcating Flavoenzyme EtfABCX from the Hyperthermophilic Bacterium Thermotoga maritima. Biochemistry 2023; 62:3554-3567. [PMID: 38061393 PMCID: PMC10734219 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
Electron bifurcation is an energy-conservation mechanism in which a single enzyme couples an exergonic reaction with an endergonic one. Heterotetrameric EtfABCX drives the reduction of low-potential ferredoxin (E°' ∼ -450 mV) by oxidation of the midpotential NADH (E°' = -320 mV) by simultaneously coupling the reaction to reduction of the high-potential menaquinone (E°' = -74 mV). Electron bifurcation occurs at the NADH-oxidizing bifurcating-flavin adenine dinucleotide (BF-FAD) in EtfA, which has extremely crossed half-potentials and passes the first, high-potential electron to an electron-transferring FAD and via two iron-sulfur clusters eventually to menaquinone. The low-potential electron on the BF-FAD semiquinone simultaneously reduces ferredoxin. We have expressed the genes encodingThermotoga maritimaEtfABCX in E. coli and purified the EtfABCX holoenzyme and the EtfAB subcomplex. The bifurcation activity of EtfABCX was demonstrated by using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to follow accumulation of reduced ferredoxin. To elucidate structural factors that impart the bifurcating ability, EPR and NADH titrations monitored by visible spectroscopy and dye-linked enzyme assays have been employed to characterize four conserved residues, R38, P239, and V242 in EtfA and R140 in EtfB, in the immediate vicinity of the BF-FAD. The R38, P239, and V242 variants showed diminished but still significant bifurcation activity. Despite still being partially reduced by NADH, the R140 variant had no bifurcation activity, and electron transfer to its two [4Fe-4S] clusters was prevented. The role of R140 is discussed in terms of the bifurcation mechanism in EtfABCX and in the other three families of bifurcating enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxuan Ge
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Gerrit J. Schut
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Jessica Tran
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92507, United States
| | - Farris L. Poole II
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Dimitri Niks
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92507, United States
| | - Kevin Menjivar
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92507, United States
| | - Russ Hille
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, California 92507, United States
| | - Michael W. W. Adams
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
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