# Structure, Function and Diversity in the Bacterial Cytochrome c Peroxidase Family

> **NIH NIH R01** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2020 · $312,544

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Hydrogen peroxide is hazardous, though common side-productive of aerobic respiration; and many gram
negative bacteria synthesize cytochrome c peroxidase (bCCP) enzymes to detoxify the peroxide by reducing it
to water. bCCPs are a large family of enzymes that are marked by (at least two) c-type heme cofactors that are
covalently attached into the protein backbone by the action of the cytochrome c maturation machinery. bCCPs
encompass “true” bCCP enzymes that engage primarily in the chemistry implied by their name, but also other
enzymes such as MauG, which is responsible for the oxidative coupling of two tyrosine side-chains in the
methylamine dehydrogenase precursor (pre-MADH) to make functional MADH, that bears a unique
tryptophanyl tryptophane quinone (TTQ) cofactor. The structural bases for the differences of fundamental
chemistry displayed by bCCP and MauG are poorly understood to date, but are certainly linked to the
differences in the redox chemistry of conserved heme cofactors. In true bCCP enzymes, peroxidatic heme
(FeL) is reponsible for peroxide binding and reduction; while electrons are transmitted to the active site via a
heme that is over 500 mV higher in potential (FeH). In MauG, the potentials of the two heme cofactors are quite
close, though how this trait is linked to reactivity is enigmatic. This proposal will elucidate the structure-function
relationships of the bCCP family, including the distinctive chemistry of MauG vs. bCCP, and the molecular
determinants for activation found within the bCCP family. Further, we have employed bioinformatics
approaches to reveal new branches of the bCCP family; these include enzymes like YhjA found in enteric
pathogens such as E. coli. YhjA and its paralogs possess a third, N-terminal heme binding domain, with an
unknown function. A second new class of enzymes displays sequence-based traits that make it appear to be a
MauG paralog, but they are found predominantly in the lung pathogen Burkholderia and not in a mau operon.
Here will determine the chemistry of these novel bCCP in order to better understand the range of chemistry of
the entire family. The objectives of this proposal are to reveal the stucture-function relationship amongst the
members of the bCCP family, and to develop new models for the novel chemistries of enzymes such as Yhja,
and the previously unreported Burkholderia bCCPs. To do so, a combination of enzymology, protein
electrochemistry, and various spectroscopies (EPR, Mössbauer) and x-ray crystallography will be used to paint
a portrait of the reactivities and conformational dynamics displayed by the diverse bCCP family members. As
bCCP is an enzyme that is on the front-line of the native defenses of NIH Select List pathogens incuding
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia complex speices, Vibrio cholarae, Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia
coli, Citrobacter, and Yersinia pestis, these studies will provide fundamental insight into the long-term
development of n...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9843144
- **Project number:** 5R01GM110390-04
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** SEAN J ELLIOTT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $312,544
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-01-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9843144

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9843144, Structure, Function and Diversity in the Bacterial Cytochrome c Peroxidase Family (5R01GM110390-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9843144. Licensed CC0.

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