PNNL

Abstract

Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 is purported to express outer membrane cytochromes (e.g., MtrC and OmcA) that transfer electrons directly to Fe(III) in a mineral during anaerobic respiration.  A prerequisite for this type of reaction would be the formation of a stable bond between a cytochrome and an iron oxide surface.  Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to detect whether a specific bond forms between a hematite (Fe2O3) thin film, created with oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and recombinant MtrC or OmcA molecules coupled to gold substrates.  Force spectra displayed a unique force signature indicative of a specific bond between each cytochrome and the hematite surface.  The strength of the OmcA-hematite bond was approximately twice as strong as the MtrC-hematite bond, but direct binding to hematite was twice as favorable for MtrC.  Reversible folding/unfolding reactions were observed for mechanically denatured MtrC molecules bound to hematite.  The force measurements for the hematite-cytochrome pairs were compared to spectra collected between an iron oxide and S. oneidensis under anaerobic conditions.  There is a strong correlation between the whole cell and pure protein force spectra suggesting that the unique binding attributes of each cytochrome complement one another and allow both MtrC and OmcA to play a prominent role in the transfer of electrons to Fe(III) in minerals.  Finally, by comparing the magnitude of binding force for the whole cell vs. pure protein data, we were able to estimate that a single bacterium of S. oneidensis (2 x 0.5 µm) expresses ~104 cytochromes on its outer surface.