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Title: De novo design of symmetric ferredoxins that shuttle electrons in vivo

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

A symmetric origin for bacterial ferredoxins was first proposed over 50 y ago, yet, to date, no functional symmetric molecule has been constructed. It is hypothesized that extant proteins have drifted from their symmetric roots via gene duplication followed by mutations. Phylogenetic analyses of extant ferredoxins support the independent evolution of N- and C-terminal sequences, thereby allowing consensus-based design of symmetric 4Fe-4S molecules. All designs bind two [4Fe-4S] clusters and exhibit strongly reducing midpoint potentials ranging from −405 to −515 mV. One of these constructs efficiently shuttles electrons through a designed metabolic pathway in Escherichia coli . These finding establish that ferredoxins consisting of a symmetric core can be used as a platform to design novel electron transfer carriers for in vivo applications. Outer-shell asymmetry increases sequence space without compromising electron transfer functionality.

Research Organization:
Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0014462; 80NSSC18M0093
OSTI ID:
1530618
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1594002
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 116 Journal Issue: 29; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 33 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Figures / Tables (6)