The dehaloperoxidase (DHP) from the terebellid polychaete Amphitrite ornata is an enzyme that converts para-halogenated phenols to the corresponding quinones in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Its enzymatic activity is similar to that of heme peroxidases such as horseradish peroxidase, yet it has the structural characteristics of the globin family of proteins, the main functions of which are oxygen transport and storage. In order to investigate the dual function of this hemoglobin peroxidase, the enzyme was expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant protein in its wild-type form and as a mutant protein in which Cys73 was replaced by a serine residue (C73S). Both the wild-type and mutant proteins were crystallized and their structures were determined at 100 K to a resolution of 1.62 A. The structure of the wild-type protein demonstrated that it was in the metaquo form, with the heme iron in the ferric oxidation state and the bound water lying 2.2 A from the heme iron. The structure of the C73S mutant protein was shown to contain a ferrous heme iron with a bound oxygen molecule. The bent bonding geometry of the Fe-O(1)-O(2) adduct results in a hydrogen bond of length 2.8 A between the second O atom, O(2), of molecular oxygen and N(2) of the distal histidine residue (His55) in both subunits contained within the asymmetric unit. This hydrogen-bonding interaction between His55 and the bound diatomic oxygen molecule provides new insight into the catalytic activation of H(2)O(2), which is essential for peroxidase activity.

X-ray crystal structures of the metcyano form of dehaloperoxidase-hemoglobin (DHP A) from Amphitrite ornata (DHPCN) and the C73S mutant of DHP A (C73SCN) were determined using synchrotron radiation in order to further investigate the geometry of diatomic ligands coordinated to the heme iron. The DHPCN structure was also determined using a rotating-anode source. The structures show evidence of photoreduction of the iron accompanied by dissociation of bound cyanide ion (CN(-)) that depend on the intensity of the X-ray radiation and the exposure time. The electron density is consistent with diatomic molecules located in two sites in the distal pocket of DHPCN. However, the identities of the diatomic ligands at these two sites are not uniquely determined by the electron-density map. Consequently, density functional theory calculations were conducted in order to determine whether the bond lengths, angles and dissociation energies are consistent with bound CN(-) or O(2) in the iron-bound site. In addition, molecular-dynamics simulations were carried out in order to determine whether the dynamics are consistent with trapped CN(-) or O(2) in the second site of the distal pocket. Based on these calculations and comparison with a previously determined X-ray crystal structure of the C73S-O(2) form of DHP [de Serrano et al. (2007), Acta Cryst. D63, 1094-1101], it is concluded that CN(-) is gradually replaced by O(2) as crystalline DHP is photoreduced at 100 K. The ease of photoreduction of DHP A is consistent with the reduction potential, but suggests an alternative activation mechanism for DHP A compared with other peroxidases, which typically have reduction potentials that are 0.5 V more negative. The lability of CN(-) at 100 K suggests that the distal pocket of DHP A has greater flexibility than most other hemoglobins.

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