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2 Flavodoxins and Electron-Transferring Flavoproteins

1975; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s1874-6047(08)60225-5

1874-6047

Stephen G. Mayhew, Martha Ludwig,

Hemoglobin structure and function

This chapter discusses two classes of flavoproteins that function solely to mediate electron transfer between the prosthetic groups of other proteins. According to the function the protein was termed electron-transferring flavoprotein. More recently, a different class of flavoprotein carriers has been isolated from microorganisms.These proteins have been called “flavodoxins” because of their functional interchangeability with the ferredoxins. The chapter describes the flavodoxins because they are the first flavoproteins for which three-dimensional structures have been determined. Organisms from which flavoproteins of the flavodoxin type have been isolated include several strictly anerobic bacteria, representatives from the obligately aerobic, facultatively anaerobic, and photosynthetic. Flavodoxins do not react directly with small molecules, such as the pyridine nucleotides, and their only known biochemical substrates are other redox proteins. The relative activities of flavodoxins and ferredoxins as electron carriers have been determined in both plant and microbial systems with results, which indicate that transfer rates vary somewhat according to the source of the carrier.