Studies on NADH (NADPH)-cytochrome c reductase (FMN-containing) from yeast. Isolation and physicochemical properties of the enzyme from top-fermenting ale yeast.

Only three major NADPH-nitrotetrazolium blue (NTB) reductases may be detected in a unique top-ale yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Narragansett strain), which appears to be of a near anaerobic type with the absence of cytochromes c and a/a3 and the presence of cytochromes P-450 and b5. Two of these three major NADPH-NTB reductases possessed NADH-NTB reductase activity; the third was specific for NADPH and was isolated in this laboratory (Tryon, E., Cress, M. C., Hamada, M., and Kuby, S. A. (1979) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 197, 104-118) vis. NADPH-cytochrome c reductase (FAD-containing). A description of the isolation procedure is provided for one of these two NADH(NADPH)-NTB reductases, viz. NADH(NADPH)-cytochrome c reductase (FMN-containing), which accounts for about one-half of the total cyanide-insensitive menadione-activated respiration of this yeast. This NADH(NADPH)-cytochrome c reductase has been isolated from an extract of an acetone powder of the top-fermenting ale yeast, with an apparent purification of more than 67-fold and a final specific activity of 0.41 and 0.31 mumol/min/mg for NADH- and NADPH-dependent reduction, respectively. The isolated enzyme proved to be homogeneous by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate and on polyacrylamide gels. It had a pI of 5.25 (at gamma/2 = 0.05) and a molecular size under nondenaturing conditions (as determined by chromatography on Sephadex G-100 and Sephacryl S-200) of 70,000 daltons. On denaturation, the enzyme dissociated into two similar, if not identical, subunits which possessed a molecular weight of 34,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate/urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and a weight average molecular weight of 35,000 by sedimentation equilibrium in the presence of 4.0 M guanidinium chloride. The absorbance spectrum of NADH(NADPH)-cytochrome c reductase (FMN-containing) showed three maxima at 464, 383, and 278 nm, with extinction coefficients of 9.88, 9.98, and 64.6 mM-1 cm-1, respectively. The reductase, as isolated, contained 0.63 mol of FMN/34,000-dalton subunit, with no metals and one sulfhydryl group/subunit. Its amino acid composition is reported herein. Anaerobic titrations with dithionite or NAD(P)H revealed a two-electron reduction of FMN, with no spectrally observable semiquinone intermediates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)