title: Electrical current generation and proton pumping catalyzed by the ba3-type cytochrome c oxidase from Thermus thermophilus.
abstract: Several amino acid residues that have been shown to be essential for proton transfer in most cytochrome c oxidases are not conserved in the ba3-type cytochrome c oxidase from the thermophilic eubacterium Thermus thermophilus. So far, it has been unclear whether the Th. thermophilus ba3-type cytochrome c oxidase can nevertheless function as an electrogenic proton pump. In this study, we have combined charge translocation measurements on a lipid bilayer with two independent methods of proton pumping measurements to show that enzymatic turnover of the Th. thermophilus cytochrome c oxidase is indeed coupled to the generation of an electrocurrent and proton pumping across the membrane. In addition to a 'vectorial' consumption of 1.0 H+/e- for water formation, proton pumping with a stoichiometry of 0.4-0.5 H+/e- was observed. The implications of these findings for the mechanism of redox-coupled proton transfer in this unusual cytochrome c oxidase are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysik, Abteilung Molekulare Membranbiologie, Frankfurt/M., Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kannt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soulimane
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buse
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bamberg
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Michel
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011522:Protons; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D055672:Static Electricity; D016963:Thermus thermophilus / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011522:Protons; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV