Cytochrome f
Cytochrome f (f, folium, leaf), a c-type cytochrome with a characteristic CysXXCysHis amino acid sequence for heme ligation, is the largest of the four major protein subunits of the membrane-embedded cytochrome b{sub 6}{sup f} complex of oxygenic photosynthesis. It contains 285-86 amino acids, consisting of a soluble 250-residue domain on the p-side (positive-side) or lumen-side of the membrane, a single trans-membrane 20-residue {alpha}-helix, and an n- or stromal-side segment consisting of 15 residues. These domains contain, respectively, the heme prosthetic group and intraprotein electron transfer pathway, the membrane anchor and a short segment that is important in the assembly of the b{sub 6}{sup f} complex. The function of the cytochrome f in oxygenic photosynthesis is to act as the terminal electron acceptor in the membrane-embedded cytochrome b{sub 6}{sup f} complex that provides the electron transport connection between the photosystem II and photosystem I reaction centers. Electron transfer through the complex is coupled to proton translocation and generation of a proton electrochemical potential that is utilized to drive the synthesis of ATP through the proton-motive ATP synthase. These functions of the cytochrome b{sub 6}{sup f} complex are analogous to those of the multisubunit cytochrome bc{sub 1} complex (ubiquinol:cytochrome c oxidoreductase) of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and photosynthetic bacteria. Both complexes contain four redox centers with very similar redox and structural properties: a covalently bound c-type heme in cytochrome f or c{sub 1}, the 2Fe-2S cluster of the Rieske ISP, and the two noncovalently bound hemes of cytochrome b. The structure properties have been defined in 3.0-3.1 {angstrom} structures of the b{sub 6}{sup f} complex from a thermophilic cyanobacterium and a green alga. These structures also defined a fifth redox prosthetic group, a novel covalently bound heme, tentatively called heme x. With the exception of the extrinsic cytochromes f and c{sub 1} that, except for the heme-binding peptide sequence, are completely different, the redox-active protein subunits of the bc{sub 1} and b{sub 6}{sup f} complexes are structurally similar. For the b{sub 6}{sup f} complex, structures at the level of atomic resolution (<2 {angstrom}) have also been obtained for the p-side or lumen-side extrinsic domains of cytochrome f and the Rieske high potential [2Fe-2S] protein, which together constitute approximately 40% of the total mass of the complex.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 1008362
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: Handbook of Metalloproteins
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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