Heme protein biosensors

The recent discovery that heme proteins can serve as molecular biosensors h as opened up a new direction in heme biochemistry directed towards elucidat ing their structure-function relationships. Examples of such sensory heme p roteins include the FixL proteins of Rhizobia involved in oxygen sensing, t he CooA protein of Rhodospirillum rubrum that senses CO, and the mammalian soluble guanylate cyclase-the only proven nitric oxide receptor. This overv iew summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the roles and mecha nisms of these novel proteins and discusses the evidence for other putative heme protein sensors. These topics will be presented in the Heme Protein B iosensors Symposium at the First International Conference of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines in Dijon, France. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Lt d.