The ‘methylamine oxidase’ system of an obligate methylotroph

Abstract

The terminal respiratory oxidase was solubilized from membranes of organism 4025, an obligate methylotroph. The partially purified oxidase is probably a cytochrome co. It does not oxidize amicyanin, but it oxidizes ‘azurin’ and cytochromes cH and cL. By using a complete ‘methylamine oxidase’ system reconstituted from pure methylamine dehydrogenase, purified oxidase and soluble blue copper proteins and cytochromes, it was confirmed that amicyanin is essential for methylamine oxidation; it could not be replaced by ‘azurin’ or cytochrome cH or cL. It was shown that the usual mediator between amicyanin and the oxidase is cytochrome cH, with ‘azurin’ able to replace it during growth at the high copper concentrations required for optimum growth of this unusual methylotroph.