Abstract
Mitochondria of Acanthamoeba castellanii possess a cyanide-resistant GMP-stimulated ubiquinol alternative oxidase in addition to the cytochrome pathway. In a previous work it has been observed that an interaction between the two ubiquinol-oxidizing pathways exists in intact A. castellanii mitochondria and that this interaction may be due to a high sensitivity of the alternative oxidase to matrix pH. In this study we have shown that the alternative oxidase activity reveals a pH-dependence with a pH optimum at 6.8 whatever the reducing substrate may be. The GMP stimulation of alternative oxidase is also strongly dependent on pH implicating probably protonation/deprotonation processes at the level of ligand and protein with an optimum pH at 6.8. The ubiquinone redox state-dependence of alternative oxidase activity is modified by pH in such a way that the highest activity for a given ubiquinone redox state is observed at pH 6.8. Thus pH, binding of GMP, and redox state of ubiquinone collaborate to set the activity of the GMP-stimulated alternative oxidase in isolated A. castellanii mitochondria. The high pH sensitivity of the alternative oxidase could link inactivation of the cytochrome pathway proton pumps to activation of the alternative oxidase with acceleration of redox free energy dissipation as a consequence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Albury, M. S., Affourtit, C., Crichton, P. G., and Moore, A. L. (2002). J. Biol. Chem. 277, 1190–1194.
Andersson, M. E., and Norlund, P. (1999). FEBS Lett. 449, 17–22.
Berthold, D. A., Andersson, M. E., and Nordlund, P. (2000). Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1460, 241–254.
Doussiere, J., and Vignais, P. V. (1984). Biochem. J. 220, 787–794.
Edwards, S. W., and Lloyd, D. (1978). Biochem. J. 174, 203–211.
Elthon, T. E., and McIntosh, L. (1986). Plant Physiol. 82, 1–6.
Elthon, T. E., Stewart, C. E., McCoy, C. A., and Bonner, W. D., Jr. (1986). Plant Physiol. 80, 378–383.
Gronall, A. G., Bardawill, C. J., and David, M. M. (1949). J. Biol. Chem. 177, 751–766.
Hanssens, L., and Verachtert, H. (1976). J. Bacteriol. 125, 829–836.
Hoefnagel, M. H. N., Rich, P. R., Zhang, Q., and Wiskich, J. T. (1997). Plant Physiol. 115, 1145–1153.
Hoefnagel, M. H. N., and Wiskich, J. T. (1996). Plant Physiol. 110, 1329–1335.
Hryniewiecka, L., Jenek, J., and Michejda, J. (1978). In Plant Mitochondria (Ducet, G., and Lance, C., eds.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 307–314.
Jarmuszkiewicz, W., and Hryniewiecka, L. (1994). Acta Biochimica Polonica 41, 218–220.
Jarmuszkiewicz, W., Sluse, F. E., Hryniewiecka, L., and Sluse-Goffart, C. M. (2002). J. Bioenerg. Biomembr. 34, 31–40.
Jarmuszkiewicz, W., Sluse-Goffart, C. M., Hryniewiecka, L., and Sluse, F. E. (1998). J. Biol. Chem. 273, 10174–10180.
Jarmuszkiewicz, W., Sluse-Goffart, C. M., Vercesi, A., and Sluse, F. E. (2001). Biosci. Rep. 21, 213–221.
Jarmuszkiewicz, W., Wagner, A. M., Wagner, M. J., and Hryniewiecka, L. (1997). FEBS Lett. 411, 110–114.
Joseph-Horne, T., Hollomon, D.W., and Wood, P. M. (2001). FEBS Lett. 1504, 179–195.
Lima, A., Jr., Costa, J. H., Jolivet, Y., Dizengremel, P., Orellano, E. G., Jarmuszkiewicz, W., Sluse, F., Fernandes de Melo, D., and Silva Lima, M. (2000). Plant Physiol. Biochem. 38, 1–7.
Sakajo, S., Minagawa, N., and Yoshimoto, Y. (1997). Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 61, 397–399.
Sharpless, T. K., and Butov, R. A. (1970). J. Biol. Chem. 245, 58–70.
Siedow, J. N., and Umbach, A. L. (2000). Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1459, 432–439.
Siedow, J. N., Umbach, A. L., and Moore, A. L. (1995). FEBS Lett. 362, 10–14.
Sluse, F. E., and Jarmuszkiewicz, W. (2002). FEBS Lett. 510, 117–120.
Umbach, A. L., and Siedow, J. N. (2000). Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 378, 234–245.
Van den Bergen, C. W. M., Wagner, A. M., Krab, K., and Moore, A. L. (1994). Eur. J. Biochem. 226, 1071–1078.
Vanderleyden, J., Kurth, J., and Verachtert, H. (1979). Biochem. J. 182, 437–443.
Vanderleyden, J., Peeters, C., Verachtert, H., and Bertrandt, H. (1980). Biochem. J. 188, 141–144.
Vanlerberghe, G. C., and McIntosh, L. (1997). Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 48, 703–734.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jarmuszkiewicz, W., Hryniewiecka, L. & Sluse, F.E. The Effect of pH on the Alternative Oxidase Activity in Isolated Acanthamoeba castellanii Mitochondria. J Bioenerg Biomembr 34, 221–226 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016087520888
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016087520888