Isolation, characterization and gene sequence analysis of a membrane-associated 89 kDa Fe(III) reducing cytochrome c from Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Geobacter sulfurreducens is capable of anaerobic respiration with Fe(III) as a terminal electron acceptor via a membrane-bound Fe(III) reductase activity associated with a large molecular mass cytochrome c. This cytochrome was purified by detergent extraction of the membrane fraction, Q-Sepharose ion-exchange chromatography, preparative electrophoresis, and MonoQ ion-exchange chromatography. Spectrophotometric analysis of the purified cytochrome reveals a c-type haem, with no evidence of haem a, haem b or sirohaem. The cytochrome has an M(r) of 89000 as determined by denaturing PAGE, and has an isoelectric point of 5.2 as determined by analytical isoelectric focusing. Dithionite-reduced cytochrome can donate electrons to Fe(III)-nitrilotriacetic acid and synthetic ferrihydrite, thus demonstrating that the cytochrome has redox and thermodynamic properties required for reduction of Fe(III). Analysis using cyclic voltammetry confirmed that the reduced cytochrome can catalytically transfer electrons to ferrihydrite, further demonstrating its ability to be an electron transport mediator in anaerobic Fe(III) respiration. Sequence analysis of a cloned chromosomal DNA fragment revealed a 2307 bp open reading frame (ferA) encoding a 768 amino acid protein corresponding to the 89 kDa cytochrome. The deduced amino acid sequence (FerA) translated from the open reading frame contained 12 putative haem-binding motifs, as well as a hydrophobic N-terminal membrane anchor sequence, a lipid-attachment site and an ATP/GTP-binding site. FerA displayed 20% or less identity with amino acid sequences of other known cytochromes, although it does share some features with characterized polyhaem cytochromes c.

Characterization of a membrane-bound NADH-dependent Fe(3+) reductase from the dissimilatory Fe(3+)-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Geobacter sulfurreducens produces a single, membrane-associated Fe(3+) reductase activity when grown on fumarate or Fe(3+). The activity was initially isolated by solubilization of membranes with the non-ionic detergent dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside, and partially purified by a combination of ion exchange chromatography and preparative non-denaturing gel electrophoresis. Molecular mass of the reductase, as determined by gel filtration chromatography, was approximately 300 kDa. Cofactor analysis of the purified reductase demonstrates that it contains a hemoprotein and flavin adenine dinucleotide. Kinetic and inhibitor studies show that the reductase is specific for NADH as electron donor, and confirm that the reductase enzymatically reduces Fe(3+). The cytochrome associated with the complex undergoes a reoxidation upon addition of Fe(3+) compounds, indicating an ability to pass reducing equivalents to Fe(3+). This is the first description of a purified NADH-dependent Fe(3+) reductase from a microorganism capable of coupling Fe(3+) reduction to growth.