title: Electron bifurcation.
abstract: Electron bifurcation is the recently recognized third mechanism of biological energy conservation. It simultaneously couples exergonic and endergonic oxidation-reduction reactions to circumvent thermodynamic barriers and minimize free energy loss. Little is known about the details of how electron bifurcating enzymes function, but specifics are beginning to emerge for several bifurcating enzymes. To date, those characterized contain a collection of redox cofactors including flavins and iron-sulfur clusters. Here we discuss the current understanding of bifurcating enzymes and the mechanistic features required to reversibly partition multiple electrons from a single redox site into exergonic and endergonic electron transfer paths.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, United States. Electronic address: john.peters@chemistry.montana.edu.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, United States.
authors.forename: Anne-Frances
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States.
authors.forename: Anne K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, United States.
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States. Electronic address: adamsm@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Michael Ww
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D004583:Electrons; D005415:Flavins / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D005415:Flavins