Redox Intermediates in the Catalase Cycle of Catalase-Peroxidases from Synechocystis PCC 6803, Burkholderia pseudomallei, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis †

Monofunctional catalases (EC 1.11.1.6) and catalase-peroxidases (KatGs, EC 1.11.1.7) have neither sequence nor structural homology, but both catalyze the dismutation of hydrogen peroxide (2H2O2 → 2H2O + O2). In monofunctional catalases, the catalatic mechanism is well-characterized with conventional compound I [oxoiron(IV) porphyrin π-cation radical intermediate] being responsible for hydrogen peroxide oxidation. The reaction pathway in KatGs is not as clearly defined, and a comprehensive rapid kinetic and spectral analysis of the reactions of KatGs from three different sources (Synechocystis PCC 6803, Burkholderia pseudomallei, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis) with peroxoacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide has focused on the pathway. Independent of KatG, but dependent on pH, two low-spin forms dominated in the catalase cycle with absorbance maxima at 415, 545, and 580 nm at low pH and 418 and 520 nm at high pH. By contrast, oxidation of KatGs with peroxoacetic acid resulted in intermediates with different s...