The three-iron cluster in a ferredoxin from Desulphovibrio gigas A low-temperature magnetic circular dichroism study

Ferredoxin II from Desulphovibrio gigas is a tetrameric protein containing a novel iron-sulphur cluster consisting of three iron atoms. The low-temperature magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra of the oxidized and dithionite-reduced forms of ferredoxin II have been measured over the wavelength range approx. 300–800 nm. Both oxidation levels of the cluster are shown to be paramagnetic, although only the oxidized form gives an EPR signal. MCD magnetization curves have been constructed over the temperature range approx. 1.5–150 K and at fields between 0 and 5.1 Tesla. The curve for the oxidized protein can be fitted to a ground state of spin $\text{S =}\text{1}\text{2}$ with an isotropic g factor of 2.01. There is evidence for the thermal population of a low-lying electronic state above 50 K. The reduced protein gives a distinctive set of magnetization curves that are tentatively assigned to a ground state of S = 2, with a predominantly axial zero-field distortion that leaves the doublet M_s = ±2 lowest in energy. The zero-field components have a maximum energy spread of approx. 15 cm⁻¹. which places an upper limit of 4 cm⁻¹ on the axial zero-field parameter D. The MCD spectra of the oxidized and reduced forms of the cluster are quite distinctive from one another. The spectra of the oxidized state are also different from those of oxidized high-potential iron protein from Chromatium and should provide a useful criterion for distinguishing between four- and three-iron clusters in their highest oxidation levels.