Structure and function of bacterial cytochrome c oxidase.

The crystal structure of cytochrome c oxidase from the soil bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans has been reported. This structure has provided a basis for understanding the mechanism of the redox-coupled transmembrane proton pump which is the key component of the respiratory chain in most aerobic organism. Over the past ten years, there have been many site-directed mutagenesis studies performed on bacterial oxidases. Structural features of Paracoccus oxidase have been summarized in the light of these mutagenesis studies and other structural works.