Asymmetric binding of the high-affinity Q(H)(center dot-) ubisemiquinone in quinol oxidase (bo(3)) from Escherichia coli studied by multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

Ubiquinone-2 (UQ-2) selectively labeled with C (I = 1/2) at either the position 1- or the 4-carbonyl carbon is incorporated into the ubiquinol oxidase bo from Escherichia coli in which the native quinone (UQ-8) has been previously removed. The resulting stabilized anion radical in the high-affinity quinone-binding site (Q) is investigated using multifrequency (9, 34, and 94 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The corresponding spectra reveal dramatic differences in C hyperfine couplings indicating a strongly asymmetric spin density distribution over the quinone headgroup. By comparison with previous results on labeled ubisemiquinones in proteins as well as in organic solvents, it is concluded that Q is most probably bound to the protein via a one-sided hydrogen bond or a strongly asymmetric hydrogen-bonding network. This observation is discussed with regard to the function of Q in the enzyme and contrasted with the information available on other protein-bound semiquinone radicals.