Abstract
THE ferredoxins are members of a class of metalloproteins known as iron–sulphur proteins which act as electron carriers in such diverse biochemical processes as carbon metabolism, nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis and steroid hydroxylation1,2. They are relatively small proteins with molecular weights of 6,000 to 12,000; they contain 2–8 atoms of iron and equivalent amounts of inorganic sulphur per molecule, transferring electrons at low redox potentials (−300 to −500 mV at pH 7) and having a characteristic electron paramagnetic resonance signal at g= 1.94 in the reduced state. Ferredoxins have been found in a wide range of organisms, from the primitive anaerobic bacteria to all higher plants and animals. A knowledge of the changes in their amino-acid sequence3 is therefore of great value to the study of the evolution of these organisms.
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HALL, D., CAMMACK, R. & RAO, K. Role for Ferredoxins in the Origin of Life and Biological Evolution. Nature 233, 136–138 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/233136a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/233136a0
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