Isolation and Partial Characterization of Two Ferredoxins from the Photosynthetic Bacterium Heliobacillus mobilis

Two ferredoxin (Fd) fractions, namely, Fd-A and Fd-B were isolated from Heliobacillus mobilis cells, and purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE, gel-permeation and Phenyl-Superose column chromatographies under anaerobic conditions. Their absorption spectra were typical of 2[4Fe-4S] cluster type Fds with peaks at about 385 and 280 nm and a shoulder at about 305 nm. Their N-terminal amino acid sequences were determined, which showed that both of them contain a [4Fe-4S] cluster binding motif. Fd-B was sensitive to oxygen, and itsA$_{385}$ value decreased by about 50% in 2 h at 4$^{\circ}C$ under aerobic conditions. In contrast, $A_{385}$ of Fd-A was essentially unchanged up to 24 h under the same conditions.