Electron transfer from the Rieske iron-sulfur protein to cytochrome c 1 (cyt c 1 ) in the Rhodobacter sphaeroides cytochrome bc 1 complex was studied using a ruthenium dimer complex, Ru 2 D. Laser flash photolysis of a solution containing reduced cyt bc 1 , Ru 2 D, and a sacrificial electron acceptor results in oxidation of cyt c 1 within 1 s, followed by electron transfer from the iron-sulfur center (2Fe-2S) to cyt c 1 with a rate constant of 80,000 s ؊1 . Experiments were carried out to evaluate whether the reaction was rate-limited by true electron transfer, proton gating, or conformational gating. The temperature dependence of the reaction yielded an enthalpy of activation of ؉17.6 kJ/mol, which is consistent with either rate-limiting conformational gating or electron transfer. The rate constant was nearly independent of pH over the range pH 7 to 9.5 where the redox potential of 2Fe-2S decreases significantly due to deprotonation of His-161. The rate constant was also not greatly affected by the Rieske iron-sulfur protein mutations Y156W, S154A, or S154A/Y156F, which decrease the redox potential of 2Fe-2S by 62, 109, and 159 mV, respectively. It is concluded that the electron transfer reaction from 2Fe-2S to cyt c 1 is controlled by conformational gating.The cytochrome bc 1 complex (ubiquinol:cytochrome c oxidoreductase) is an integral membrane protein in the energyconserving electron transport chains of mitochondria and many respiratory and photosynthetic prokaryotes (1). The complex contains the Rieske iron-sulfur protein, cyt 1 c 1 , and two b-type hemes (b L and b H ) in the cyt b subunit (1, 2). In the Q-cycle mechanism, the complex translocates four protons to the positive side of the membrane per two electrons transferred from ubiquinol to cyt c (2). In a key bifurcated reaction at the Q o site, the first electron is transferred from ubiquinol to the Rieske iron-sulfur center (2Fe-2S) and then to cyt c 1 and cyt c (1-3). The second electron is transferred from semiquinone in the Q o site to cyt b L and then to cyt b H and ubiquinone in the Q i site. Extensive x-ray crystallographic studies of cyt bc 1 have revealed that the Rieske iron-sulfur protein occurs in several different conformations depending on the crystal form and the presence of Q o site inhibitors ( Fig. 1) (4 -6). In native I4 1 22 bovine crystals an anomalous signal for 2Fe-2S is found close to cyt b L , but its intensity is small, suggesting that the Rieske iron-sulfur protein is conformationally mobile (4, 7). Addition of the Q o inhibitors UHDBT or stigmatellin significantly increased the intensity of 2Fe-2S, indicating that the Rieske iron-sulfur protein was immobilized with 2Fe-2S near the surface of cyt b L (7). In both chicken and yeast cyt bc 1 crystals, grown in the presence of stigmatellin, the Rieske iron-sulfur protein is in a conformation with 2Fe-2S proximal to the cyt b L heme, called the b state (5, 8). However, in native chicken or beef P6 5 22 crystals, the Rieske iron-sulfur protein is in a conformation with 2Fe-2S cl...