The respiratory chain and energy conservation in the mitochondrion-like bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans.

Paracoccus denitrificans has a flexible electron transport chain containing various inducible dehydrogenases, oxidases and reductases. The sequence of electron carriers and stoichiometry of energy transduction is well known, with the exception of all functional aspects of the different c-type cytochromes. The mitochondrion-like characteristics of the respiratory chain have stimulated much research at the molecular level, which should help to elucidate the structure-function relationship of the components of the different respiratory complexes isolated.