A novel type of catalytic copper cluster in nitrous oxide reductase

1 March 2000

journal article
letter
Published by Springer Nature in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology

Vol. 7 (3) , 191-195
https://doi.org/10.1038/73288

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a greenhouse gas, the third most significant contributor to global warming. As a key process for N₂O elimination from the biosphere, N₂O reductases catalyze the two-electron reduction of N₂O to N₂. These 2 × 65 kDa copper enzymes are thought to contain a CuA electron entry site, similar to that of cytochrome c oxidase, and a CuZ catalytic center. The copper anomalous signal was used to solve the crystal structure of N₂O reductase from Pseudomonas nautica by multiwavelength anomalous dispersion, to a resolution of 2.4 Å. The structure reveals that the CuZ center belongs to a new type of metal cluster, in which four copper ions are liganded by seven histidine residues. N₂O binds to this center via a single copper ion. The remaining copper ions might act as an electron reservoir, assuring a fast electron transfer and avoiding the formation of dead-end products.

Keywords

COPPER

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