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Electrochemical interrogations of the Mtr cytochromes from Shewanella: opening a potential window

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Abstract

The multi-heme cytochromes from Shewanella oneidensis associated with the dissimilatory metal reduction (DMR) pathway have been investigated using the technique of protein film voltammetry (PFV). Using PFV, we have interrogated each of the multi-heme cytochromes (MtrA, STC, and solubilized versions of the membrane-bound proteins CymA, OmcA, and MtrC) under identical conditions for the first time. Each cytochrome reveals a broad envelope of voltammetric response, indicative of multiple redox cofactors that span a range of potential of approximately 300 mV. Our studies show that, when considered as an aggregate pathway, the multiple hemes of the DMR cytochromes provide a “window” of operating potential for electron transfer to occur from the cellular interior to the exterior spanning values of −250 to 0 mV (at circumneutral values of pH). Similarly, each cytochrome supports interfacial electron transfer at rates on the order of 200 s−1. These data are taken together to suggest a model of electron transport where a wide window of potential allows for charge transfer from the cellular interior to the exterior to support bioenergetics.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Liang Shi (PNNL), Frank Collart and Yuri Londer (Argonne National Laboratories), Stephen Chapman (University of Edinburgh), and Linda Thöny-Meyer (ETH-Zurich) for reagents and strains described in the “Materials and methods” in the electronic supplementary material, and A.K. Jones for thoughtful comments on this manuscript. Financial support was granted by the National Science Foundation (MCB 0546323).

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  1. Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Mackenzie Firer-Sherwood, Gökçe Su Pulcu & Sean J. Elliott

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  1. Mackenzie Firer-Sherwood
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  2. Gökçe Su Pulcu
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  3. Sean J. Elliott
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Correspondence to Sean J. Elliott.

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Firer-Sherwood, M., Pulcu, G.S. & Elliott, S.J. Electrochemical interrogations of the Mtr cytochromes from Shewanella: opening a potential window. J Biol Inorg Chem 13, 849–854 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00775-008-0398-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00775-008-0398-z

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