Complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase), one of the largest membrane-bound enzymes in the cell, powers ATP synthesis in mammalian mitochondria by using the reducing potential of NADH to drive protons across the inner membrane. Mammalian complex I1 contains 45 subunits, comprising 14 core subunits that house the catalytic machinery and are conserved from bacteria to humans, and a mammalian-specific cohort of 31 supernumerary subunits1,2. Knowledge about the structures and functions of the supernumerary subunits is fragmentary. Here, we describe a 4.2 Å resolution single-particle cryoEM structure of complex I from Bos taurus. We locate and model all 45 subunits to provide the entire structure of the mammalian complex. Furthermore, computational sorting of the particles identified different structural classes, related by subtle domain movements, which reveal conformationally-dynamic regions and match biochemical descriptions of the ‘active-to-deactive’ enzyme transition that occurs during hypoxia3,4. Thus, our structures provide a foundation for understanding complex I assembly5 and the effects of mutations that cause clinically-relevant complex I dysfunctions6, insights into the structural and functional roles of the supernumerary subunits, and new information on the mechanism and regulation of catalysis.

Complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) is essential for oxidative phosphorylation in mammalian mitochondria. It couples electron transfer from NADH to ubiquinone with proton translocation across the energy-transducing inner membrane, providing electrons for respiration and driving ATP synthesis. Mammalian complex I contains 44 different nuclear- and mitochondrial-encoded subunits, with a combined mass of 1 MDa. The fourteen conserved ‘core’ subunits have been structurally defined in the minimal, bacterial complex, but the structures and arrangement of the 30 ‘supernumerary’ subunits are unknown. Here, we describe a 5 Å resolution structure of complex I from Bos taurus heart mitochondria, a close relative of the human enzyme, determined by single-particle electron cryo-microscopy. We present the structures of the mammalian core subunits that contain eight iron-sulphur clusters and 60 transmembrane helices, identify 18 supernumerary transmembrane helices, and assign and model 14 supernumerary subunits. Thus, we significantly advance knowledge of the structure of mammalian complex I and the architecture of its supernumerary ensemble around the core domains. Our structure provides insights into the roles of the supernumerary subunits in regulation, assembly and homeostasis, and a basis for understanding the effects of mutations that cause a diverse range of human diseases.

Pericyclic reactions are powerful transformations for the construction of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds in organic synthesis. Their role in biosynthesis is increasingly apparent, and mechanisms by which pericyclases can catalyse reactions are of major interest 1. [4+2] cycloadditions (Diels-Alder reactions) have been widely used in organic synthesis 2 for the formation of six-membered rings and are now well-established in biosynthesis 3-6. [6+4] and other 'higher-order' cycloadditions were predicted 7 in 1965, and are now increasingly common in the laboratory despite challenges arising from the generation of a highly strained ten-membered ring Reprints and permissions information is available at http://www.nature.com/reprints.

Genome mining targeting unique type II PKS and NRPS led to the identification of a novel class of glycopeptides named kitacinnamycins.