The conserved protein Dre2 uses essential [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters for its function in cytosolic iron-sulfur protein assembly.

The cytosolic iron-sulfur (Fe-S) protein assembly (CIA) machinery comprises 11 essential components and matures Fe-S proteins involved in translation and genome maintenance. Maturation is initiated by the electron transfer chain NADPH-diflavin reductase Tah18-Fe-S protein Dre2 that facilitates the de novo assembly of a [4Fe-4S] cluster on the scaffold complex Cfd1-Nbp35. Tah18-Dre2 also play a critical role in the assembly of the diferric tyrosyl radical cofactor of ribonucleotide reductase. Dre2 contains eight conserved cysteine residues as potential co-ordinating ligands for Fe-S clusters but their functional importance and the type of bound clusters is unclear. In the present study, we use a combination of mutagenesis, cell biological and biochemical as well as UV-visible, EPR and Mössbauer spectroscopic approaches to show that the yeast Dre2 cysteine residues Cys(252), Cys(263), Cys(266) and Cys(268) (motif I) bind a [2Fe-2S] cluster, whereas cysteine residues Cys(311), Cys(314), Cys(322) and Cys(325) (motif II) co-ordinate a [4Fe-4S] cluster. All of these residues with the exception of Cys(252) are essential for cell viability, cytosolic Fe-S protein activity and in vivo (55)Fe-S cluster incorporation. The N-terminal methyltransferase-like domain of Dre2 is important for proper Fe-S cluster assembly at motifs I and II, which occurs in an interdependent fashion. Our findings further resolve why recombinant Dre2 from Arabidopsis, Trypanosoma or humans has previously been isolated with a single [2Fe-2S] instead of native [2Fe-2S] plus [4Fe-4S] clusters. In the presence of oxygen, the motif I-bound [2Fe-2S] cluster is labile and the motif II-bound [4Fe-4S] cluster is readily converted into a [2Fe-2S] cluster.

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