Mechanism of Cu(A) assembly.

Copper is essential for proper functioning of cytochrome c oxidases, and therefore for cellular respiration in eukaryotes and many bacteria. Here we show that a new periplasmic protein (PCuAC) selectively inserts Cu(I) ions into subunit II of Thermus thermophilus ba3 oxidase to generate a native CuA site. The purported metallochaperone Sco1 is unable to deliver copper ions; instead, it works as a thiol-disulfide reductase to maintain the correct oxidation state of the CuA cysteine ligands.