A New Era for Electron Bifurcation

Authors

John W. Peters, Washington State University Pullman
David N. Beratan, Duke University
Brian Bothner, Montana State University
R. Brian Dyer, Emory University
Caroline S. Harwood, University of Washington
Zachariah M. Heiden, Washington State University Pullman
Russ Hille, University of California, Riverside
Anne K. Jones, Arizona State University
Paul W. King, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Yi Lu, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Carolyn E. Lubner, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Shelley D. Minteer, The University of Utah
David W. Mulder, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Simone Raugei, Washington State University Pullman
Gerrit J. Schut, University of Georgia
Lance C. Seefeldt, Utah State UniversityFollow
Monika Tokmina-Lukaszewska, Montana State University
Oleg A. Zadvornyy, Washington State University Pullman
Peng Zhang, Duke University
Michael WW Adams, University of Georgia

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

Current Opinion in Chemical Biology

Publication Date

8-1-2018

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd. * Current Opinion Journals

Volume

47

First Page

32

Last Page

38

Abstract

Electron bifurcation, or the coupling of exergonic and endergonic oxidation-reduction reactions, was discovered by Peter Mitchell and provides an elegant mechanism to rationalize and understand the logic that underpins the Q cycle of the respiratory chain. Thought to be a unique reaction of respiratory complex III for nearly 40 years, about a decade ago Wolfgang Buckel and Rudolf Thauer discovered that flavin-based electron bifurcation is also an important component of anaerobic microbial metabolism. Their discovery spawned a surge of research activity, providing a basis to understand flavin-based bifurcation, forging fundamental parallels with Mitchell's Q cycle and leading to the proposal of metal-based bifurcating enzymes. New insights into the mechanism of electron bifurcation provide a foundation to establish the unifying principles and essential elements of this fascinating biochemical phenomenon.

Recommended Citation

Peters, J. W., Beratan, D. N., Bothner, B., Dyer, R. B., Harwood, C. S., Heiden, Z. M., Hille, R., Jones, A. K., King, P. W., Lu, Y., Lubner, C. E., Minteer, S. D., Mulder, D. W., Raugei, S., Schut, G. J., Seefeldt, L. C., Tokmina-Lukaszewska, M., Zadvornyy, O. A., Zhang, P., and Adams, M. W. (2018) A new era for electron bifurcation. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol.47, 32–38.