Structure of Escherichia coli cytochrome bd-II type oxidase with bound aurachin D.

Grauel, Antonia; Kägi, Jan; Rasmussen, Tim; Makarchuk, Iryna; Oppermann, Sabrina; Moumbock, Aurélien F A; Wohlwend, Daniel; Müller, Rolf et al. · Nat Commun · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Cytochrome bd quinol:O<sub>2</sub> oxidoreductases are respiratory terminal oxidases so far only identified in prokaryotes, including several pathogenic bacteria. Escherichia coli contains two bd oxidases of which only the bd-I type is structurally characterized. Here, we report the structure of the Escherichia coli cytochrome bd-II type oxidase with the bound inhibitor aurachin D as obtained by electron cryo-microscopy at 3 Å resolution. The oxidase consists of subunits AppB, C and X that show an architecture similar to that of bd-I. The three heme cofactors are found in AppC, while AppB is stabilized by a structural ubiquinone-8 at the homologous positions. A fourth subunit present in bd-I is lacking in bd-II. Accordingly, heme b<sub>595</sub> is exposed to the membrane but heme d embedded within the protein and showing an unexpectedly high redox potential is the catalytically active centre. The structure of the Q-loop is fully resolved, revealing the specific aurachin binding.

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