We report the observation of a novel intermediate in the reaction of a reduced toluene/o-xylene monooxygenase hydroxylase (ToMOHred) T201S variant, in the presence of a regulatory protein (ToMOD), with dioxygen. This species is the first oxygenated intermediate with an optical band in any toluene monooxygenase. The UV-Vis and Mössbauer spectroscopic properties of the intermediate allowing us to assign it as a peroxodiiron(III) species, T201Speroxo, similar to Hperoxo in methane monooxygenase. Although T201S generates T201Speroxo in addition to optically transparent ToMOHperoxo, previously observed in wild type ToMOH, this conservative variant is catalytically active in steady state catalysis and single turnover experiments, and displays the same regiospecificity for toluene and slightly different regiospecificity for o-xylene oxidation.

Pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme (PFL-AE) catalyzes the generation of a catalytically essential glycyl radical on pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL). Purified PFL-AE contains an oxygen-sensitive, labile [4Fe-4S] cluster that undergoes cluster interconversions in vitro, with only the [4Fe-4S]+ cluster state being catalytically active. Such cluster interconversions could play a role in regulating the activity of PFL-AE, and thus of PFL, in response to oxygen levels in vivo. Here we report a Mössbauer investigation on whole cells overexpressing PFL-AE following incubation under aerobic and/or anaerobic conditions and provide evidence that PFL-AE undergoes cluster interconversions in vivo. After 2 h aerobic induction of PFL-AE expression, approximately 44% of the total iron is present in [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters, 6% in [2Fe-2S] 2+ clusters, and the remainder as noncluster FeIII (29%) and FeII (21%) species. Subsequent anaerobic incubation of the culture results in approximately 75% of the total iron being present as [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters, with no detectable [2Fe-2S]2+. Ensuing aerobic incubation of the culture converts the iron species nearly back to the original composition (42% [4Fe-4S]2+, 10% [2Fe-2S] 2+, 19% FeIII, and 29% FeII). The results provide evidence for changes in cluster composition of PFL-AE in response to the redox state of the cell. Furthermore, the Mössbauer spectra reveal that the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster of PFL-AE in whole cells contains a valence-localized FeIIIFeII pair which has not been previously observed in the purified enzyme. Addition of certain small molecules containing adenosyl moieties, including 5′-deoxyadenosine, AMP, ADP, and methylthioadenosine, to purified PFL-AE reproduces the valence-localized state of the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster. It is speculated that the [4Fe-4S] 2+ cluster of PFL-AE in whole cells may be coordinated by a small molecule, probably AMP, and that such coordination may protect this labile cluster from oxidative damage.

Spore photoproduct lyase (SPL), a member of the radical SAM superfamily, catalyzes the direct reversal of the spore photoproduct (SP), a thymine dimer specific to bacterial spores, to two thymines. SPL requires S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) and a redox active [4Fe-4S] cluster for catalysis. Mössbauer analysis of anaerobically purified SPL indicates the presence of a mixture of cluster states with the majority (40%) as [2Fe-2S]2+ and a smaller amount (15%) as [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters. Upon reduction, the cluster content changes to primarily (60%) [4Fe-4S]+. The speciation information from Mössbauer data allowed us to deconvolute iron and sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectra to uncover electronic (XANES) and geometric (EXAFS) structural features of the Fe-S clusters, and their interactions with SAM. The Fe K-edge EXAFS provide evidence for elongation of a [2Fe-2S] rhomb of the [4Fe-4S] cluster upon binding SAM on the basis of an Fe…Fe scatterer at 3.0 Å. The XANES spectra of reduced SPL in the absence and presence of SAM overlay, indicating that SAM is not undergoing reductive cleavage. The XAS data for SPL samples and data for model complexes from literature allowed for the deconvolution of contributions from [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters to the sulfur K-edge XANES spectra. The analysis of pre-edge features revealed electronic changes in the Fe-S clusters as a function of SAM presence. The spectroscopic findings were further corroborated by density functional theory calculations that provided insights into structural and electronic perturbations that can be correlated by considering the role of SAM as a catalyst or substrate.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial glutaredoxin 5 (Grx5) is the archetypical member of a ubiquitous class of monothiol glutaredoxins with a strictly conserved CGFS active-site sequence that has been shown to function in biological [Fe2S2]2+ cluster trafficking. In this work, we show that recombinant S. cerevisiae Grx5 purified aerobically after prolonged exposure of the cell-free extract to air or after anaerobic reconstitution in the presence of glutathione, predominantly contains a linear [Fe3S4]+ cluster. The excited state electronic properties and ground state electronic and vibrational properties of the linear [Fe3S4]+ cluster have been characterized using UV-visible absorption/CD/MCD, EPR, Mössbauer and resonance Raman spectroscopies. The results reveal a rhombic S = 5/2 linear [Fe3S4]+ cluster with properties similar to those reported for synthetic linear [Fe3S4]+ clusters and the linear [Fe3S4]+ clusters in purple aconitase. Moreover, the results indicate that the Fe-S cluster content previously reported for many monothiol Grxs has been misinterpreted exclusively in terms of [Fe2S2]2+ clusters, rather than linear [Fe3S4]+ clusters or mixtures of linear [Fe3S4]+ and [Fe2S2]2+ clusters. In the absence of GSH, anaerobic reconstitution of Grx5 yields a dimeric form containing one [Fe4S4]2+ cluster that competent for in vitro activation of apo-aconitase, via intact cluster transfer. The ligation of the linear [Fe3S4]+ and [Fe4S4]2+ clusters in Grx5 has been assessed by spectroscopic, mutational and analytical studies. Potential roles for monothiol Grx5 in scavenging and recycling linear [Fe3S4]+ clusters released during protein unfolding under oxidative stress conditions and in maturation of [Fe4S4]2+ cluster-containing proteins are discussed in light of these results.

Nfu-type proteins are essential in the biogenesis of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters in numerous organisms. A number of phenotypes including low levels of Fe-S cluster incorporation are associated with the deletion of the gene encoding a chloroplast-specific Nfu-type protein, Nfu2 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtNfu2). Here, we report that recombinant AtNfu2 is able to assemble both [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters. Analytical data and gel filtration studies support cluster/protein stoichiometries of one [2Fe-2S] cluster/homotetramer and one [4Fe-4S] cluster/homodimer. The combination of UV-visible absorption and circular dichroism and resonance Raman and Mössbauer spectroscopies has been employed to investigate the nature, properties, and transfer of the clusters assembled on Nfu2. The results are consistent with subunit-bridging [2Fe-2S]2+ and [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters coordinated by the cysteines in the conserved CXXC motif. The results also provided insight into the specificity of Nfu2 for the maturation of chloroplastic Fe-S proteins via intact, rapid, and quantitative cluster transfer. [2Fe-2S] cluster-bound Nfu2 is shown to be an effective [2Fe-2S]2+ cluster donor for glutaredoxin S16 but not glutaredoxin S14. Moreover, [4Fe-4S] cluster-bound Nfu2 is shown to be a very rapid and efficient [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster donor for adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate reductase (APR1), and yeast two-hybrid studies indicate that APR1 forms a complex with Nfu2 but not with Nfu1 and Nfu3, the two other chloroplastic Nfu proteins. This cluster transfer is likely to be physiologically relevant and is particularly significant for plant metabolism as APR1 catalyzes the second step in reductive sulfur assimilation, which ultimately results in the biosynthesis of cysteine, methionine, glutathione, and Fe-S clusters.

Ferritins are ubiquitous and can be found in practically all organisms that utilize Fe. They are composed of 24 subunits forming a hollow sphere with an inner cavity of ~80 Å in diameter. The main function of ferritin is to oxidize the cytotoxic Fe2+ ions and store the oxidized Fe in the inner cavity. It has been established that the initial step of rapid oxidation of Fe2+ (ferroxidation) by H-type ferritins, found in vertebrates, occurs at a diiron binding center, termed ferroxidase center. In bacterial ferritins, however, X-ray crystallographic evidence and amino-acid sequence analysis revealed a trinuclear Fe binding center comprising a binuclear Fe binding center (sites A and B), homologous to the ferroxidase center of H-type ferritin, and an adjacent mononuclear Fe binding site (site C). In an effort to obtain further evidence supporting the presence of a trinuclear Fe binding center in bacterial ferritins and to gain information on the states of the iron bound to the trinuclear center, bacterial ferritin from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (DvFtn) and its E130A variant were loaded with sub-stoichiometric amounts of Fe2+ and products were characterized by Mössbauer and EPR spectroscopy. Four distinct Fe species were identified: a paramagnetic diferrous species, a diamagnetic diferrous species, a mixed valence Fe2+Fe3+ species and a mononuclear Fe2+ species. The latter three species were detected in the wild-type DvFtn, while the paramagnetic diferrous species was detected in the E130A variant. These observations can be rationally explained by the presence of a trinuclear Fe binding center, and the four Fe species can be properly assigned to the three Fe binding sites. Further, our spectroscopic data suggest that (1) the fully occupied trinuclear center supports an all ferrous state, (2) site B and C are bridged by a μ-OH group forming a diiron sub-center within the trinuclear center, and (3) this sub-center can afford both a mixed valence Fe2+Fe3+ state and a diferrous state. Mechanistic insights provided by these new findings are discussed and a minimal mechanistic scheme involving O-O bond cleavage is proposed.