Cytochrome c biogenesis in Campylobacter jejuni requires cytochrome c6 (CccA; Cj1153) to maintain apocytochrome cysteine thiols in a reduced state for haem attachment.

The microaerophilic food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni uses complex cytochrome-rich respiratory chains for growth and host colonisation. Cytochrome c biogenesis requires haem ligation to reduced apocytochrome cysteines, catalysed by the cytochrome c synthase, CcsBA. While ccsBA could not be deleted, we showed that the thiol reductase DsbD and the CcsX homologue Cj1207 are involved in, but not essential for, cytochromes c biogenesis. Mutant phenotypic analyses and biochemical studies with purified proteins revealed that the mono-haem c-type cytochromes Cj1153 (CccA) and Cj1020 (CccB) and the di-haem Cj0037 (CccC) are electron donors to the cb-oxidase (CcoNOQP), with CccC being more efficient than CccA. Remarkably, cccA deletion or site-directed mutagenesis resulted in an almost complete loss of all other c-type cytochromes. Cytochrome c structural and biogenesis genes were still transcribed in the cccA deletion mutant and the quinol oxidase genes (cioAB) were up-regulated. Cytochrome c production could be rescued in this mutant by growth with exogenous dithiothreitol or L-cysteine, suggesting that in the absence of CccA, apocytochrome c haem binding motifs become oxidised, preventing haem attachment. Our results identify CccA, the most abundant periplasmic c-type cytochrome in C. jejuni, as a novel and unexpected protein required for cytochrome c biogenesis in this pathogen.