Heme d formation in a Shewanella benthica hemoglobin.
Martinez Grundman, J.E., Schultz, T.D., Schlessman, J.L., Liu, K., Johnson, E.A., Lecomte, J.T.J.(2024) J Inorg Biochem 259: 112654-112654
- PubMed: 38959524 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2024.112654
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
8UGZ, 8VSH, 8W3A - PubMed Abstract: 
In our continued investigations of microbial globins, we solved the structure of a truncated hemoglobin from Shewanella benthica, an obligate psychropiezophilic bacterium. The distal side of the heme active site is lined mostly with hydrophobic residues, with the exception of a tyrosine, Tyr34 (CD1) and a histidine, His24 (B13). We found that purified SbHbN, when crystallized in the ferric form with polyethylene glycol as precipitant, turned into a green color over weeks. The electron density obtained from the green crystals accommodated a trans heme d, a chlorin-type derivative featuring a γ-spirolactone and a vicinal hydroxyl group on a pyrroline ring. In solution, exposure of the protein to one equivalent of hydrogen peroxide resulted in a similar green color change, but caused by the formation of multiple products. These were oxidation species released on protein denaturation, likely including heme d, and a species with heme covalently attached to the polypeptide. The Tyr34Phe replacement prevented the formation of both heme d and the covalent linkage. The ready modification of heme b by SbHbN expands the range of chemistries supported by the globin fold and offers a route to a novel heme cofactor.
Organizational Affiliation: 
T.C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.