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.

SummaryComplex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) is central to energy metabolism in mammalian mitochondria. It couples NADH oxidation by ubiquinone to proton transport across the energy-conserving inner membrane, catalyzing respiration and driving ATP synthesis. In the absence of substrates, active complex I gradually enters a pronounced resting or deactive state. The active-deactive transition occurs during ischemia and is crucial for controlling how respiration recovers upon reperfusion. Here, we set a highly active preparation of Bos taurus complex I into the biochemically defined deactive state, and used single-particle electron cryomicroscopy to determine its structure to 4.1 Å resolution. We show that the deactive state arises when critical structural elements that form the ubiquinone-binding site become disordered, and we propose reactivation is induced when substrate binding to the NADH-reduced enzyme templates their reordering. Our structure both rationalizes biochemical data on the deactive state and offers new insights into its physiological and cellular roles.

Rhomboids are intramembrane proteases that use a catalytic dyad of serine and histidine for proteolysis. They are conserved in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes and regulate cellular processes as diverse as intercellular signalling, parasitic invasion of host cells, and mitochondrial morphology. Their widespread biological significance and consequent medical potential provides a strong incentive to understand the mechanism of these unusual enzymes for identification of specific inhibitors. In this study, we describe the structure of Escherichia coli rhomboid GlpG covalently bound to a mechanism-based isocoumarin inhibitor. We identify the position of the oxyanion hole, and the S 1 -and S 2 0 -binding subsites of GlpG, which are the key determinants of substrate specificity. The inhibitor-bound structure suggests that subtle structural change is sufficient for catalysis, as opposed to large changes proposed from previous structures of unliganded GlpG. Using bound inhibitor as a template, we present a model for substrate binding at the active site and biochemically test its validity. This study provides a foundation for a structural explanation of rhomboid specificity and mechanism, and for inhibitor design.

OmpG, a monomeric pore-forming protein from Escherichia coli outer membranes, was refolded from inclusion bodies and crystallized in two different conformations. The OmpG channel is a 14-stranded b-barrel, with short periplasmic turns and seven extracellular loops. Crystals grown at neutral pH show the channel in the open state at 2.3 Å resolution. In the 2.7 Å structure of crystals grown at pH 5.6, the pore is blocked by loop 6, which folds across the channel. The rearrangement of loop 6 appears to be triggered by a pair of histidine residues, which repel one another at acidic pH, resulting in the breakage of neighbouring H-bonds and a lengthening of loop 6 from 10 to 17 residues. A total of 151 ordered LDAO detergent molecules were found in the 2.3 Å structure, mostly on the hydrophobic outer surface of OmpG, mimicking the outer membrane lipid bilayer, with three LDAO molecules in the open pore. In the 2.7 Å structure, OmpG binds one OG and one glucose molecule as sugar substrates in the closed pore.