No abstract

Inspired by the period-four oscillation in flash-induced oxygen evolution of photosystem II discovered by Joliot in 1969, Kok performed additional experiments and proposed a five-state kinetic model for photosynthetic oxygen evolution, known as Kok’s S-state clock or cycle1,2. The model comprises four (meta)stable intermediates (S0, S1, S2 and S3) and one transient S4 state, which precedes dioxygen formation occurring in a concerted reaction from two water-derived oxygens bound at an oxo-bridged tetra manganese calcium (Mn4CaO5) cluster in the oxygen-evolving complex3–7. This reaction is coupled to the two-step reduction and protonation of the mobile plastoquinone QB at the acceptor side of PSII. Here, using serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography and simultaneous X-ray emission spectroscopy with multi-flash visible laser excitation at room temperature, we visualize all (meta)stable states of Kok’s cycle as high-resolution structures (2.04–2.08 Å). In addition, we report structures of two transient states at 150 and 400 μs, revealing notable structural changes including the binding of one additional ‘water’, Ox, during the S2→S3 state transition. Our results suggest that one water ligand to calcium (W3) is directly involved in substrate delivery. The binding of the additional oxygen Ox in the S3 state between Ca and Mn1 supports O–O bond formation mechanisms involving O5 as one substrate, where Ox is either the other substrate oxygen or is perfectly positioned to refill the O5 position during O2 release. Thus, our results exclude peroxo-bond formation in the S3 state, and the nucleophilic attack of W3 onto W2 is unlikely.

Anaerobic CO dehydrogenases catalyze the reversible oxidation of CO to CO2 at a complex Ni-, Fe-, and S-containing metal center called cluster C. We report crystal structures of CO dehydrogenase II from Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans in three different states. In a reduced state, exogenous CO2 supplied in solution is bound and reductively activated by cluster C. In the intermediate structure, CO2 acts as a bridging ligand between Ni and the asymmetrically coordinated Fe, where it completes the square-planar coordination of the Ni ion. It replaces a water/hydroxo ligand bound to the Fe ion in the other two states. The structures define the mechanism of CO oxidation and CO2 reduction at the Ni-Fe site of cluster C.

The homodimeric nickel-containing CO dehydrogenase from the anaerobic bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans catalyzes the oxidation of CO to CO2. A crystal structure of the reduced enzyme has been solved at 1.6 angstrom resolution. This structure represents the prototype for Ni-containing CO dehydrogenases from anaerobic bacteria and archaea. It contains five metal clusters of which clusters B, B', and a subunit-bridging, surface-exposed cluster D are cubane-type [4Fe-4S] clusters. The active-site clusters C and C' are novel, asymmetric [Ni-4Fe-5S] clusters. Their integral Ni ion, which is the likely site of CO oxidation, is coordinated by four sulfur ligands with square planar geometry.

The CO dehydrogenase of the eubacterium Oligotropha carboxidovorans is a 277-kDa Mo-and Cu-containing iron-sulfur flavoprotein. Here, the enzyme's active site in the oxidized or reduced state, after inactivation with potassium cyanide or with n-butylisocyanide bound to the active site, has been reinvestigated by multiple wavelength anomalous dispersion measurements at atomic resolution, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and chemical analyses. We present evidence for a dinuclear heterometal [CuSMo(AO)OH] cluster in the active site of the oxidized or reduced enzyme, which is prone to cyanolysis. C arbon monoxide dehydrogenases (CODHs) of aerobic or anaerobic Bacteria and Archaea, which represent the essential catalyst in the global biogeochemical cycle of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO), catalyze the oxidation of CO to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) or the reverse reaction [CO ϩ H 2 O 7 CO 2 ϩ 2 H ϩ ϩ 2 e Ϫ ] (1, 2). The annual removal of CO from the lower atmosphere and earth by microorganisms has been estimated to be Ϸ1 ϫ 10 8 tons (3). Thus, an important role of CODHs is to remove CO from the environment, helping to maintain the toxic gas at subhazardous concentrations.The Ni-containing CODHs from the anaerobic hydrogenogenic bacteria Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans (4, 5) or Rhodospirillum rubrum (6) and the Mo-containing CODHs from the aerobic carboxidotrophic bacteria Oligotropha carboxidovorans (7-9) or Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava (10) have been structurally characterized. The homodimeric CODHs of C. hydrogenoformans or R. rubrum contain five metal clusters, of which clusters B, BЈ and a subunit-bridging, surface-exposed cluster D are cubane-type [4Fe-4S] clusters (5, 6). The active-site clusters C and CЈ of the C. hydrogenoformans CODH are asymmetric [Ni-4Fe-5S] clusters identified in the enzyme reduced with dithionite. Their integral Ni ion, which is the likely site of CO oxidation, is coordinated by four sulfur ligands with square planar geometry (5). Interestingly, the corresponding cluster of the CODH from R. rubrum has been described as an Fe mononuclear site in combination with an [NiFe 3 S 4 ] cubane (6).CODH from O. carboxidovorans consists of a dimer of LMS heterotrimers (7). Each heterotrimer is composed of a 17.8-kDa iron-sulfur protein (S), which carries two types of [2Fe-2S] clusters, a 30.2-kDa flavoprotein (M), which contains a noncovalently bound FAD cofactor, and an 88.7-kDa molybdoprotein (L), which harbors the active site of the enzyme. In a previous paper (7), a CODH preparation with a specific activity of 6.6 units͞mg was analyzed at a resolution of 2.2 Å. The enzyme's active site was modeled to contain Mo with three oxygen ligands, the molybdopterin cytosine dinucleotide (MCD) cofactor, and an SeH-group bound to the S␥ atom of Cys-388. In the present paper, we have applied multiple wavelength anomalous dispersion methods at up to 1.09-Å resolution to crystals containing fully functional CODH (23.2 units͞mg). The SeH-group could not be confirmed, and a Cu atom was identified instead, at ...

Light-induced oxidation of water by photosystem II (PS II) in plants, algae and cyanobacteria has generated most of the dioxygen in the atmosphere. PS II, a membrane-bound multi-subunit pigment-protein complex, couples the one-electron photochemistry at the reaction center with the four-electron redox chemistry of water oxidation at the Mn4CaO5 cluster in the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) (Fig. 1a, Extended Data Fig. 1). Under illumination, the OEC cycles through five intermediate S-states (S0 to S4)1, where S1 is the dark stable state and S3 is the last semi-stable state before O-O bond formation and O2 evolution2,3. A detailed understanding of the O-O bond formation mechanism remains a challenge, and elucidating the structures of the OEC in the different S-states, as well as the binding of the two substrate waters to the catalytic site4-6, is a prerequisite for this purpose. Here we report the use of femtosecond pulses from an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) to obtain damage free, room temperature (RT) structures of dark-adapted (S1), two-flash illuminated (2F; S3-enriched), and ammonia-bound two-flash illuminated (2F-NH3; S3-enriched) PS II. Although the recent 1.95 Å structure of PS II7 at cryogenic temperature using an XFEL provided a damage-free view of the S1 state, RT measurements are required to study the structural landscape of proteins under functional conditions8,9, and also for in situ advancement of the S-states. To investigate the water-binding site(s), ammonia, a water analog, has been used as a marker, as it binds to the Mn4CaO5 cluster in the S2 and S3 states10. Since the ammonia-bound OEC is active, the ammonia-binding Mn site is not a substrate water site10-13. Thus, this approach, together with a comparison of the native dark and 2F states, is used to discriminate between proposed O-O bond formation mechanisms.

In oxygenic photosynthesis, light-driven oxidation of water to molecular oxygen is carried out by the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in photosystem II (PS II). Recently, we reported the room-temperature structures of PS II in the four (semi)stable S-states, S1, S2, S3, and S0, showing that a water molecule is inserted during the S2→ S3transition, as a new bridging O(H)-ligand between Mn1 and Ca. To understand the sequence of events leading to the formation of this last stable intermediate state before O2formation, we recorded diffraction and Mn X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) data at several time points during the S2→ S3transition. At the electron acceptor site, changes due to the two-electron redox chemistry at the quinones, QAand QB, are observed. At the donor site, tyrosine YZand His190 H-bonded to it move by 50 µs after the second flash, and Glu189 moves away from Ca. This is followed by Mn1 and Mn4 moving apart, and the insertion of OX(H) at the open coordination site of Mn1. This water, possibly a ligand of Ca, could be supplied via a “water wheel”-like arrangement of five waters next to the OEC that is connected by a large channel to the bulk solvent. XES spectra show that Mn oxidation (τ of ∼350 µs) during the S2→ S3transition mirrors the appearance of OXelectron density. This indicates that the oxidation state change and the insertion of water as a bridging atom between Mn1 and Ca are highly correlated.

Organohalide-respiring microorganisms can use a variety of persistent pollutants, including trichloroethene (TCE), as terminal electron acceptors. The final two-electron transfer step in organohalide respiration is catalyzed by reductive dehalogenases. Here we report the x-ray crystal structure of PceA, an archetypal dehalogenase from Sulfurospirillum multivorans, as well as structures of PceA in complex with TCE and product analogs. The active site harbors a deeply buried norpseudo-B12 cofactor within a nitroreductase fold, also found in a mammalian B12 chaperone. The structures of PceA reveal how a cobalamin supports a reductive haloelimination exploiting a conserved B12-binding scaffold capped by a highly variable substrate-capturing region.