PROSITE documentation PDOC00176

4Fe-4S ferredoxin-type iron-sulfur binding domain signature and profile

Ferredoxins [1] are a group of iron-sulfur proteins which mediate electron transfer in a wide variety of metabolic reactions. Ferredoxins can be divided into several subgroups depending upon the physiological nature of the iron-sulfur cluster(s). One of these subgroups are the 4Fe-4S ferredoxins, which are found in bacteria and which are thus often referred as 'bacterial-type' ferredoxins. The structure of these proteins [2] consists of the duplication of a domain of twenty six amino acid residues; each of these domains contains four cysteine residues that bind to a 4Fe-4S center.

Several structures of the 4Fe-4S ferredoxin domain have been determined (see for example <PDB:1FDN>) [3]. The clusters consist of two interleaved 4Fe- and 4S-tetrahedra forming a cubane-like structure, in such a way that the four iron occupy the eight corners of a distorted cube. Each 4Fe-4S is attached to the polypeptide chain by four covalent Fe-S bonds involving cysteine residues.

A number of proteins have been found [4] that include one or more 4Fe-4S binding domains similar to those of bacterial-type ferredoxins. These proteins are listed below:

• The iron-sulfur proteins of the succinate dehydrogenase and the fumarate reductase complexes (EC 1.3.99.1). These enzyme complexes, which are components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, each contain three subunits: a flavoprotein, an iron-sulfur protein, and a b-type cytochrome. The iron- sulfur proteins contain three different iron-sulfur centers: a 2Fe-2S, a 3Fe-4S and a 4Fe-4S.
• Escherichia coli anaerobic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.5) This enzyme is composed of three subunits: A, B, and C. The C subunit seems to be an iron-sulfur protein with two ferredoxin-like domains in the N- terminal part of the protein.
• Escherichia coli anaerobic dimethyl sulfoxide reductase. The B subunit of this enzyme (gene dmsB) is an iron-sulfur protein with four 4Fe-4S ferredoxin-like domains.
• Escherichia coli formate hydrogenlyase. Two of the subunits of this oligomeric complex (genes hycB and hycF) seem to be iron-sulfur proteins that each contain two 4Fe-4S ferredoxin-like domains.
• Methanobacterium formicicum formate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.2). This enzyme is used by the archaebacteria to grow on formate. The β chain of this dimeric enzyme probably binds two 4Fe-4S centers.
• Escherichia coli formate dehydrogenases N and O (EC 1.2.1.2). The β chain of these two enzymes (genes fdnH and fdoH) are iron-sulfur proteins with four 4Fe-4S ferredoxin-like domains.
• Desulfovibrio periplasmic [Fe] hydrogenase (EC 1.18.99.1). The large chain of this dimeric enzyme binds three 4Fe-4S centers, two of which are located in the ferredoxin-like N-terminal region of the protein.
• Methanobacterium thermoautrophicum methyl viologen-reducing hydrogenase subunit mvhB, which contains six tandemly repeated ferredoxin-like domains and which probably binds twelve 4Fe-4S centers.
• Salmonella typhimurium anaerobic sulfite reductase (EC 1.8.1.-) [5]. Two of the subunits of this enzyme (genes asrA and asrC) seem to both bind two 4Fe-4S centers.
• A Ferredoxin-like protein (gene fixX) from the nitrogen-fixation genes locus of various Rhizobium species, and one from the Nif-region of Azotobacter species.
• The 9 Kd polypeptide of chloroplast photosystem I [6] (gene psaC). This protein contains two low potential 4Fe-4S centers, referred as the A and B centers.
• The chloroplast frxB protein which is predicted to carry two 4Fe-4S centers.
• An ferredoxin from a primitive eukaryote, the enteric amoeba Entamobea histolytica.
• Escherichia coli hypothetical protein yjjW, a protein with a N-terminal region belonging to the radical activating enzymes family (see <PDOC00834>) and two potential 4Fe-4S centers.

The pattern of cysteine residues in the iron-sulfur region is sufficient to detect this class of 4Fe-4S binding proteins. The profile we developed covers the whole domain.