The
aim of this site is to present the functional and structural assets
of quinol-dependent
nitric oxide reductase (qNOR), an enzyme from
the rod-shaped, gram-positive bacterium Geobacillus
stearothermophilus, which is able to catalyze the reduction of
nitric oxide (NO) to nitrous oxide (N2O).
The
crystal structure of cNOR was published in 2010, allowing for the
discovery of the overall structure and catalytic configuration of
qNOR.The recent discovery of the crystal structure of qNOR makes it
possible to compare the two
proteins and understand how
they are related.
Cytochrome
oxidase (COX) show similarities with NOR and it has been
hypothesized that these two proteins have evolved from the same
ancestor protein. Consequently these two proteins have both been
classified as part of the heme-copper oxidase (HCO) superfamily.
Bio-informatics
analysis between qNOR and cytochrome dependent NOR (cNOR) as well as
the NOR family and the cytochrome oxidase or COX family will help
understanding the evolutionary relationship and conservation of the
related enzymes.
