Interaction of Cytochrome c and Cytochrome c Oxidase Studied by Spin-Label EPR and Site-Directed Mutagenesis

A thiol-specific spin label was attached to cysteine-102 of yeast cytochrome c and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra were measured as a function of added cytochrome c oxidase concentration. The intensity decreased due to line broadening as cytochrome c formed a complex with cytochrome c oxidase and reached a minimum when the ratio of cytochrome c to cytochrome c oxidase became one. Replacement of either Lys-72 or Lys-87 of cytochrome c by Glu did not result in a significant change in binding affinity. Interestingly the K72E mutant, unlike K87E, had a much lower rate of electron transfer than the wild type. These results indicate that many positively charged residues as a group participate in complex formation but Lys-72 might be important for cytochrome c to be locked in an orientation for an efficient electron transfer. A stoichiometry of 1 was also confirmed by optical absorption of the cytochrome c-cytochrome c oxidase complex which had been run through a gel chromatography cloumn to remove unbound cytochrome c. The EPR spectrum of this 1:1 complex, however, was a mixture of two components. This explains a biphasic kinetics for a single binding site on cytochrome c oxidase without invoking conformational transition.