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18e: Super Complex

  • Page ID
    150639
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    Electron Transport:

    Supercomplex I1III2IV1– A Multienzyme

    Electron Pathway

    • Fill in the blanks on the following statement:

      In electron transport, the electrons from ____________ are transferred via complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) and ubiquinone to complex _____ (ubiquinol:cytochrome c oxidoreductase). Thereafter they pass through cytochrome c to complex _____ (cytochrome c oxidase) to the terminal acceptor, ______________.

    Multienzyme

    In many organisms, this pathway is assembled into a supercomplex.

    Schäfer, Dencher, Vonck and Parcej, Biochemistry, 2007, 46, 12579-12585.

    • In terms of electron transfer rates and entropy, explain why is a supercomplex might be an advantage to an organism.

    This is a 3D map of the Supercomplex I1III2IV1 along the membrane plane.

    • Identify the three individual protein complexes:

      • Complex I

      • Complex III

      • Complex IV

        Screen Shot 2019-05-13 at 1.28.12 PM.png

    On the basis of the fitted structure, cytochromes b and c1 from complex III2 seem to face subunit II. Hence, the cytochrome c binding sites of both complexes are facing each other (shown below).

    Screen Shot 2019-05-13 at 1.29.49 PM.png

    • Based on this picture of the supercomplex, speculate about the diffusion of the mobile electron carriers. How mobile are these carriers? Are the substrates directly channeled? Diffused over a short distance?


    This page titled 18e: Super Complex is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kate Graham.

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