title: New genes encoding subunits of a cytochrome bc1-analogous complex in the respiratory chain of the hyperthermoacidophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.
abstract: The soxL gene from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (DSM 639) encodes a Rieske iron-sulfur protein. In this study we report the identification of two open reading frames in its downstream region. The first one, named soxN, codes for a membrane protein bearing a resemblance to the b-type cytochromes of the cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. The protein is predicted to contain at least 10 transmembrane helices and features the two conserved histidine pairs coordinating the heme groups of these cytochromes. The second open reading frame, named odsN, encodes a soluble protein of unknown function. The genomic region displays a complex transcription pattern. Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses revealed the presence of mono- and bi-cistronic transcripts as well as a tri-cistronic transcript of soxL and cbsAB, encoding the mono-heme cytochrome b558/566. Phylogenetic analyses of the genes of the soxLN pair and of other archaeal gene pairs encoding Rieske iron-sulfur proteins and b-type cytochromes revealed an identical branching patterns for both protein families, suggesting an evolutionary link of these genes provided by the functional interaction of the proteins. On the basis of the findings of this study and the previously studied properties of the soxL and cbsA proteins, we propose the occurrence of a novel cytochrome bc1-analogous complex in the membranes of Sulfolobus, consisting of the cytochrome b homolog soxN, the Rieske protein soxL, the high potential cytochrome cbsA, as well as the non-redox-active subunits cbsB and odsN.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biochemie der Universität Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiller
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Henninger
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004579:Electron Transport / Q000235:genetics; D014450:Electron Transport Complex III / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000379:methods*; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein / Q000379:methods; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D016945:Sulfolobus acidocaldarius / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C094530:SoxI protein, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius; D014450:Electron Transport Complex III