[SCAN] Crystallographic structural insights on FoxE, an enzyme involved in anoxygenic photosynthesis, and on SOR, a sulfur metabolization nano reactor

Scan Seminar

Title: Crystallographic structural insights on FoxE, an enzyme involved in anoxygenic photosynthesis, and on SOR, a sulfur metabolization nano reactor.

Speaker: Carlos Frazão

From: Structural Biology Lab, ITQB

Abstract

Bilions of years ago, before the Great Oxygen Event, global depositon of massive sedimentary ores were produced by microbial iron metabolisms. The common ancestor of all photosynthetic organisms is thought to have used sulfur compounds, and later ferrous iron , as source of electrons. FoxE is a cytochrome from Rhodobacter ferrooxidans SW2, a bacterium capable of photoferrotrophy, where FoxE is believed to enhance light dependent ferrous oxidation activity.

Numerous microorganisms oxidize sulfur for energy conservation and contribute to the global biogeochemical sulfur cycle. Sulphur oxygenase reductase (SOR) transforms inorganic sulphur with assistance of oxygen into sulphur metabolites. It woks as icosatetramers with non-heme mono-iron ligated by 2-his-1-carboxylate facial triad in 24 catalytic sites.