Characterization of the NiFeCO complex of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase as a catalytically competent intermediate in the pathway of acetyl-coenzyme A synthesis.

Many anaerobic bacteria fix CO2 via the acetyl-CoA pathway. Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH), a key enzyme in the pathway, condenses a methyl group, a carbonyl group from CO, CO2, or the carboxyl group of pyruvate, and CoA to form acetyl-CoA. When treated with CO, CODH exhibits an EPR signal which results from an organometallic complex containing nickel, at least 3 iron, and CO and has been referred to as the NiFeC signal. Although this EPR signal has been presumed to be the spectroscopic signature of the enzyme-bound C-1 precursor of the carbonyl group of acetyl-CoA, its catalytic relevance had not been rigorously studied. We have demonstrated the catalytic competence of this NiFeC species by showing that the rate of formation of the NiFeC EPR signal is faster than the rate of an isotope exchange reaction between CO and acetyl-CoA, a partial reaction in the overall synthesis. Generation of the NiFeC signal in the absence of CO by acetyl-CoA has been demonstrated and requires a one-electron reduction at a midpoint potential of -541 mV versus the standard hydrogen electrode. In addition, we have observed and characterized an isotope exchange reaction between the carbonyl group of acetyl-CoA and the carbonyl group of the NiFeC complex, indicating that the C in the NiFeC complex is in the form of CO. These combined results demonstrate that the NiFeCO complex exhibits the characteristics expected of the precursor of the carbonyl group of acetyl-CoA.