CYTOCHROME-C-OXIDASE

Within the past year, the structures of the cytochrome c oxidase from the soil bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans and of the metal centers o f the cytochrome c oxidase from bovine heart mitochondria, both determ ined at 2.8 Angstrom resolution by X-ray crystallography, have been re ported. The structures form a basis for understanding the mechanism of this redox-coupled transmembrane proton pump, which is the key compon ent of the respiratory chain of most aerobic organisms.