title: Structure, function, and formation of biological iron-sulfur clusters.
abstract: Iron-sulfur [Fe-S] clusters are ubiquitous and evolutionary ancient prosthetic groups that are required to sustain fundamental life processes. Owing to their remarkable structural plasticity and versatile chemical/electronic features [Fe-S] clusters participate in electron transfer, substrate binding/activation, iron/sulfur storage, regulation of gene expression, and enzyme activity. Formation of intracellular [Fe-S] clusters does not occur spontaneously but requires a complex biosynthetic machinery. Three different types of [Fe-S] cluster biosynthetic systems have been discovered, and all of them are mechanistically unified by the requirement for a cysteine desulfurase and the participation of an [Fe-S] cluster scaffolding protein. Important mechanistic questions related to [Fe-S] cluster biosynthesis involve the molecular details of how [Fe-S] clusters are assembled on scaffold proteins, how [Fe-S] clusters are transferred from scaffolds to target proteins, how various accessory proteins participate in [Fe-S] protein maturation, and how the biosynthetic process is regulated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA. dejohns4@vt.edu
authors.forename: Deborah C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Dennis R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Archer D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009591:Nitrogenase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins; C487901:IscA protein, E coli; C411665:IscU protein, E coli; C088637:NifU protein, Bacteria; C080001:nifS protein, Bacteria; D009591:Nitrogenase