Separation of respiratory reactions in Rhodospirillum rubrum: inhibition studies with 2-hydroxydiphenyl.

1. Respiration of chemotrophically and phototrophically grown Rhodospirillum rubrum is inhibited by 2-hydroxydiphenyl. 2. Membrane-bound NADH oxidase and NADH: cytochrome c reductase are inhibited also. The inhibitor constant for both reactions (Ki) is 0.075 plus or minus 0.012 mM. NADH dehydrogenase is not inhibited significantly. 3. The inhibition of succinate:cytochrome c reductase is associated for chemotrophic membranes with Ki equals 0.22 plus or minus 0.03 mM and for phototrophic membranes with Ki equals 0.49 plus or minus 0.09 mM. Succinate dehydrogenase is not affected by 2-hydroxydiphenyl. 4. Cytochrome oxidase is inhibited only slightly. 5. While NADH-dependent reactions in both phototrophic and chemotrophic membranes are inhibited maximally more than 95 percent, succinate-dependent reactions can be inhibited more than 95 percent only in chemotrophic membranes. In phototrophic membranes the maximum inhibition of succinate-dependent reactions is about 70 percent. 6. The type of inhibition in both cases 2 and 3 is non-competitive. 7. While the reduction of b-type cytochrome is inhibited by 2-hydroxydiphenyl, the degree of ubiquinone reduction is not influenced. The data suggest that the site of inhibition is localized between ubiquinone and cytochrome b. 8. Implications of these data for the respiratory electron transport system in R. rubrum are discussed.