One-megadalton metalloenzyme complex in Geobacter metallireducens involved in benzene ring reduction beyond the biological redox window

Reversible biological electron transfer usually occurs between redox couples at standard redox potentials ranging from +0.8 to −0.5 V. Dearomatizing benzoyl-CoA reductases (BCRs), key enzymes of the globally relevant microbial degradation of aromatic compounds at anoxic sites, catalyze a biological Birch reduction beyond the negative limit of this redox window. The structurally characterized BamBC subunits of class II BCRs accomplish benzene ring reduction at an active-site tungsten cofactor; however, the mechanism and components involved in the energetic coupling of endergonic benzene ring reduction have remained hypothetical. We present a 1-MDa, membrane-associated, Bam[(BC)₂DEFGHI]₂ complex from the anaerobic bacterium Geobacter metallireducens harboring 4 tungsten, 4 zinc, 2 selenocysteines, 6 FAD, and >50 FeS cofactors. The results suggest that class II BCRs catalyze electron transfer to the aromatic ring, yielding a cyclic 1,5-dienoyl-CoA via two flavin-based electron bifurcation events. This work expands our knowledge of energetic couplings in biology by high-molecular-mass electron bifurcating machineries.