title: Analysis of COX2 mutants reveals cytochrome oxidase subassemblies in yeast.
abstract: Cytochrome oxidase catalyses the reduction of oxygen to water. The mitochondrial enzyme contains up to 13 subunits, 11 in yeast, of which three, Cox1p, Cox2p and Cox3p, are mitochondrially encoded. The assembly pathway of this complex is still poorly understood. Its study in yeast has been so far impeded by the rapid turnover of unassembled subunits of the enzyme. In the present study, immunoblot analysis of blue native gels of yeast wild-type and Cox2p mutants revealed five cytochrome oxidase complexes or subcomplexes: a, b, c, d and f; a is likely to be the fully assembled enzyme; b lacks Cox6ap; d contains Cox7p and/or Cox7ap; f represents unassembled Cox1p; and c, observed only in the Cox2p mutants, contains Cox1p, Cox3p, Cox5p and Cox6p and lacks the other subunits. The identification of these novel cytochrome oxidase subcomplexes should encourage the reexamination of other yeast mutants.
authors.affiliation: Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Susannah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horan
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bourges
authors.forename: Jan-Willem
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Taanman
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meunier
mesh_terms: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D021122:Protein Subunits; C117108:cytochrome C oxidase subunit II; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV