The transition between active and de-activated forms of NADH:: ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) in the mitochondrial membrane of Neurospora crassa

The mammalian mitochondrial NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex 1) has been shown to exist in two kinetically and structurally distinct slowly interconvertible forms, active (A) and de-activated (D) [Vinogradov and Grivennikova (2001) IUBMB Life 52, 129-134]. This work was undertaken to investigate the putative Complex I A-D transition in the mitochondrial membrane of the lower eukaryote Neurospora crassa and in plasma membrane of the prokaryote Paracoccus denitrificans, organisms that are eligible for molecular genetic manipulations. The potential interconversion between A and D forms was assessed by examination of the initial and steady-state rates of NADH oxidation catalysed by inside-out submitochondrial (N. crassa) and sub-bacterial (P. denitrificans) particles and their sensitivities to N-ethylmaleimide and Mg2+. All diagnostic tests provide evidence that slow temperature- and turnover-dependent A-D transition is an explicit feature of eukaryotic N. crassa Complex 1, whereas the phenomenon is not seen in the membranes of the prokaryote P. denitrificans. Significantly lower activation energy for A-to-D transition characterizes the N. crassa enzyme compared with that determined previously for the mammalian Complex I. Either a lag or a burst in the onset of the NADH oxidase assayed in the presence of Mg2+ is seen when the reaction is initiated by the thermally de-activated or NADH-activated particles, whereas the delayed final activities of both preparations are the same. We conclude that continuous slow cycling between A and D forms occurs during the steady-state operation of Complex I in N. crassa mitochondria.