Isolation and characterization of ubiquinol oxidase complexes from Paracoccus denitrificans cells cultured under various limiting growth conditions in the chemostat.

To obtain more information about the composition of the respiratory chain under different growth conditions and about the regulation of electron-transfer to several oxidases and reductases, ubiquinol oxidase complexes were partially purified from membranes of Paracoccus denitrificans cells grown in carbon-source-limited aerobic, nitrate-limited anaerobic and oxygen-limited chemostat cultures. The isolated enzymes consisted of cytochromes bc1, c552 and aa3. In comparison with the aerobic ubiquinol oxidase complex, the oxygen- and nitrate-limited ones contained, respectively, less and far less of the cytochrome aa3 subunits and the anaerobic complex also contained lower amounts of cytochrome c552. In addition, extra haem-containing polypeptides were present with apparent Mr of 14,000, 30,000 and 45,000, the former one only in the anaerobic and the latter two in both the anaerobic and oxygen-limited preparations. This is the first report describing four different membrane-bound c-type cytochromes. The potentiometric and spectral characteristics of the redox components in membrane particles and isolated ubiquinol oxidase fractions were determined by combined potentiometric analysis and spectrum deconvolution. Membranes of nitrate- and oxygen-limited cells contained extra high-potential cytochrome b in comparison with the membranes of aerobically grown cells. No difference was detected between the three isolated ubiquinol oxidase complexes. Aberrances with already published values of redox potentials are discussed.