title: Spectroscopy of succinate dehydrogenases, a historical perspective.
abstract: An attempt is made to retrace, from personal experience, the discovery of redox-reactive non-heme iron in living matter, which turned out to occur in the form of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters, and then to recount the immediate application of this knowledge in exploring the composition of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and in the rather detailed description of the workings of its components and, for the purposes of the present volume, of succinate dehydrogenase. The relationship of these events to the general status of technology and the available methodology and instrumentation is considered in some detail, with the conclusion that there scarcely was a way that these discoveries could have been made earlier. It is then shown how methods, techniques and interpretations of results were developed and evolved during the applications that were made to a complex problem such as that of the composition, structure and functioning of succinate dehydrogenase. A tabulation of the most significant events--concerning specifically spectroscopy and its interpretations--in this development is given up to the year 2000.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Enzyme Research and Department of Biochemistry, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53705-4098, USA. hbeinert@facstaff.wisc.edu
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beinert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000266:history; D002417:Cattle; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D004579:Electron Transport; D005288:Ferredoxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history; D005420:Flavoproteins / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history*; D008929:Mitochondria, Heart / Q000737:chemistry; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000266:history; D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005288:Ferredoxins; D005420:Flavoproteins; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; C007943:high potential iron-sulfur protein; D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase