A New Era for Electron Bifurcation
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.
