The SufBCD protein complex is the scaffold for iron-sulfur cluster assembly in Thermus thermophiles HB8

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are the oldest and most versatile inorganic cofactors that are required to sustain fundamental life processes. Bacteria have three systems of [Fe-S] cluster biogenesis, designated ISC, NIF, and SUF. In contrast, the Thermus thermophiles HB8 has only one system, formed mostly by SUF homologs that contain six proteins: SufA, SufB, SufC, SufD, SufS and SufE. The kinetics of SufC ATPase was studied using a linked enzyme assay method. In the presence of SufB, SufD or SufBD complexes, the activity of SufC was enhanced. The cysteine desulfurase activity of SufS was also stimulated by the presence of the SufBCD complex. The results obtained through enzymology revealed that aconitase activity was activated by [Fe-S] clusters reconstituted on the SufBCD complex. Consolidated results from spectral and enzymatic analysis suggest that the SufBCD complex is a novel type of Fe-S scaffold system that can assemble Fe/S clusters de novo.