Evidence for the Intertwined Dimer of the Cytochrome bc1 Complex in Solution

Abstract

To confirm that the cytochrome bc1 complex exists as a dimer with intertwining Rieske iron-sulfur proteins in solution, four Rhodobacter sphaeroides mutants expressing His-tagged cytochrome bc1 complexes containing two pairs of cysteine substitutions, one in the interface between the head domain of iron-sulfur protein (ISP) and cytochrome b and the other between the tail domain of ISP and cytochrome b, were generated and characterized. They are: K70C(ISP)/A185C(cytb)·P33C(ISP)/G89C(cytb), K70C(ISP)/A185C(cytb)·P33C(ISP)/M92C (cytb), K70C (ISP)/A185C(cytb)·L34C(ISP)/V64C(cytb), and K70C(ISP)/A185C(cytb)· N36C(ISP)/G89C(cytb). The K70C(ISP)/A185C(cytb) cysteine pair cross-links the head domain of ISP and cytochrome b; the P33C(ISP)/G89C(cytb), P33C(ISP)/M92C (cytb), L34C(ISP)/V64C(cytb), and N36C(ISP)/G89C(cytb) cysteine pairs cross-link the tail domain of ISP and cytochrome b. An adduct protein with an apparent molecular mass of 128 kDa containing two cytochrome b and two ISP proteins is detected in the K70C(ISP)/A185C(cytb)·P33C(ISP)/G89C(cytb) and K70C(ISP)/A185C(cytb)·N36C(ISP)/G89C(cytb) mutant complexes, confirming that the bc1 complex exists as a dimer with intertwining ISPs. The loss of activity in these two double-cysteine-pair mutant complexes was attributed to the disulfide bond between the head domain of ISP and cytochrome b and not the one between the tail domain of ISP and cytochrome b.