Laser flash photolysis studies of electron transfer mechanisms in cytochromes: an aromatic residue at position 82 is not required for cytochrome c reduction by flavin semiquinones or electron transfer from cytochrome c to cytochrome oxidase.

The influence of an aromatic side chain at position 82 of yeast iso-1-cytochrome c on the kinetics of its electron transfer reactions has been investigated using laser flash photolysis methods to compare a series of site-specific mutant cytochromes in their reduction by free flavin semiquinone and in electron transfer from reduced cytochrome to bovine cytochrome c oxidase. Although small (approximately 10%) but significant differences are observed between some of the mutants (S82, Y82, I82) and wild-type (F82) or G82 cytochrome in the second-order rate constant for reduction by lumiflavin semiquinone, these do not correlate with side-chain aromaticity. In the reaction between the ferrocytochromes and cytochrome c oxidase, significantly larger deviations from exponentiality are found for those mutants having aliphatic residues at position 82 than for wild type or Y82. We interpret the nonexponential behavior in terms of multiple orientations of the cytochromes within the oxidase binding site; the extent to which this occurs is apparently influenced by the character of the residue at position 82. However, a comparison of the average rate constants for electron transfer to cytochrome oxidase for the various mutants reveals that all are closely comparable to WT, except for I82 which is significantly slower (approximately threefold). These results, combined with those obtained previously from steady-state kinetic and thermodynamic measurements, suggest that the observed differences among the mutants are due to alterations in the mode of binding of the cytochrome to the oxidase, rather than to a specific requirement for the presence of an aromatic group at position 82.