Modular origins of biological electron transfer chains.

ABSTRACT: Oxidoreductases catalyze electron transfer reactions that ultimately provide the energy for life. A limited set of ancestral protein-metal modules are presumably the building blocks that evolved into this diverse protein family. However, the identity of these modules and their path to modern oxidoreductases is unknown. Using a comparative structural analysis approach, we identify a set of fundamental electron transfer modules that have evolved to form the extant oxidoreductases. Using transition metal-containing cofactors as fiducial markers, it is possible to cluster cofactor microenvironments into as few as four major modules: bacterial ferredoxin, cytochrome c, symerythrin, and plastocyanin-type folds. From structural alignments, it is challenging to ascertain whether modules evolved fr

SUBMITTER: Raanan H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5819401 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature