[Study of ferredoxins in membranes of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides by means of Mossbauer spectroscopy].

Mössbauer spectra were investigated in membranes (chromatophores) of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides, enriched in 57Fe, over a temperature range from 4.2 to 300 K. The spectrum of isolated chromatophores is a symmetric doublet characterized by an isomeric shift delta=0.60+/-0.03 mm/s, quadrupole splitting delta=0.54+/-0.03 mm/s and a width gamma delta of 1.42+/-0.04 mm/3 at half maximum. These parameters, which are in fact characteristic of the Mössbauer spectra of bacterial ferredoxins, appeared practically invariable over a wide range of temperatures. The spectrum of dithionite-treated chromatophores, measured immediately after dithionite treatment, exhibits, in addition, a doublet having parameters characteristic of high-spin bivalent iron. The doublet linewidth of the Fe2+ (S=2) iron is equal, at room temperature, to the emission spectrum linewidth. At 4K, some broadening of the spectrum is observed, which is of magnetic origin. The intensity of the Fe2+(S=2) doublet from a dithionite-treated sample shows a pronounced drop after several days of storage, with the intensity of the initial doublet rising. The overall area under the spectra, the linewidth and shape are not changed. Based on experimental data obtained, possible models of the active center composed of most frequently encountered membrane-bound ferredoxins of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides are discussed.