The three-spin intermediate at the O–O cleavage and proton-pumping junction in heme–Cu oxidases
Anex Jose, Andrew W. Schaefer, Antonio C. Roveda, Wesley J. Transue, Sylvia K. Choi, Ziqiao Ding, Robert B. Gennis, Edward I. Solomon
Abstract
Breaking down oxygen Molecular oxygen (O 2 ) is the terminal oxidant for respiration in mitochondria and many bacteria. Within membrane-bound heme–copper oxidases, a controlled, four-electron reduction of O 2 to water is coupled to pumping of protons across the membrane that can be used, among other outcomes, to generate adenosine triphosphate. Studying cytochrome bo 3 ubiquinol oxidase, Jose et al . investigated the key P M intermediate, which forms after O–O bond cleavage and precedes proton pumping, using magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy. The authors observed features demonstrating that P M is a three-spin system, which is consistent with a consensus model including an iron(IV)-oxo species, copper(II) ion, and tyrosyl radical. These results provide an important validation of the O–O cleavage mechanism and open the door to understanding the proton pumping step. —MAF