Purification of ferredoxins and their reaction with purified reaction center complex from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum

Four ferredoxin (Fd) fractions, namely, FdA–D were purified from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum. Their absorption spectra are typical of 2[4Fe–4S] cluster type Fds with peaks at about 385 and 280 nm and a shoulder at about 305 nm. The A385/A280 ratios of the purified Fds were 0.76–0.80. Analysis of the N-terminal amino acid sequences of these Fds (15–25 residues) revealed that those of FdA and FdB completely agree with those deduced from the genes, fdx3 and fdx2, respectively, found in this bacterium (Chung and Bryant, personal communication). The N-terminal amino acid sequences of FdC and FdD (15 residues) were identical, and agree with that deduced from the gene fdx1 (Chung and Bryant, personal communication). The A385 values of these Fds were unchanged when they were stored for a month at −80°C under aerobic conditions and decreased by 10–15% when they were stored for 6 days at 4°C under aerobic conditions, indicating that they are not extremely unstable. In the presence of Fd-NADP+ reductase from spinach, and a purified reaction center (RC) preparation from C. tepidum composed of five kinds of polypeptides, these Fds supported the photoreduction of NADP+ at room temperature with the following Km and Vmax (in μmol NADP+ μmol BChl a−1 h−1): FdA, 2.0 μM and 258; FdB, 0.49 μM and 304; FdC, 1.13 μM and 226; FdD, 0.5 μM and 242; spinach Fd, 0.54 μM and 183. The Vmax value of FdB was more than twice that previously reported for purified RC preparations from green sulfur bacteria