Interconversion of F430 derivatives of methanogenic bacteria.

F430 is the prosthetic group of the methylcoenzyme M reductase of methanogenic bacteria. The compound isolated from Methanosarcina barkeri appears to be identical to the one obtained from the only distinctly related Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. F430 is thermolabile and in the presence of acetonitrile or C10-4 two epimerization products are obtained upon heating; in the absence of these compounds F430 is oxidized to 12,13-didehydro-F430. The latter is stereoselectively reduced under H2 atmosphere to F430 by cell-free extracts of M. barkeri or M. thermoautotrophicum. H2 may be replaced by the reduced methanogenic electron carrier coenzyme F420.