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New Class of Membrane Oxidoreductases
A new class of bacterial multi-subunit membrane-bound electron transfer complexes has been identified based on biochemical and bioinformatic data. It contains subunits homologous to the three-subunit molybdopterin oxidoreductases and four additional subunits, two of which are ctype cytochromes. The complex was purified from the filamentous anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus, and putative operons for similar complexes were identified in a wide range of bacteria. In most cases, the presence of the new complex is anticorrelated with the cytochrome bc or bf electron transfer complex, suggesting that it replaces it functionally. This appears to be a widespread yet previously unrecognized protein complex involved in energy metabolism in bacteria.