Type-2 Site Research Articles

Spectroscopically Validated pH-dependent MSOX Movies Provide Detailed Mechanism of Copper Nitrite Reductases

Copper nitrite reductases (CuNiRs) exhibit a strong pH dependence of their catalytic activity. Structural movies can be obtained by serially recording multiple structures (frames) from the same spot of a crystal using the MSOX serial crystallography approach. This method has been combined with on-line single crystal optical spectroscopy to capture the pH-dependent structural changes that accompany during turnover of CuNiRs from two Rhizobia species. The structural movies, initiated by the redox activation of a type-1 copper site (T1Cu) via X-ray generated photoelectrons, have been obtained for the substrate-free and substrate-bound states at low (high enzymatic activity) and high (low enzymatic activity) pH. At low pH, formation of the product nitric oxide (NO) is complete at the catalytic type-2 copper site (T2Cu) after a dose of 3 MGy (frame 5) with full bleaching of the T1Cu ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) 455 nm band (S(σ)Cys → T1Cu2+) which in itself indicates the electronic route of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) from T1Cu to T2Cu. In contrast at high pH, the changes in optical spectra are relatively small and the formation of NO is only observed in later frames (frame 15 in Br2DNiR, 10 MGy), consistent with the loss of PCET required for catalysis. This is accompanied by decarboxylation of the catalytic AspCAT residue, with CO2 trapped in the catalytic pocket.

Heteronuclear Fe(III)/Mn(III) salen complex as electron transfer mediator for laccase-based biocathodes: Structural investigations, molecular docking, and electrochemical studies

A novel hetero-trinuclear Fe(III)/Mn(III) complex derived from a salen ligand has been investigated using elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The studied complex crystallized as orthorhombic with the Mn(III) ion coordinated in the equatorial plane by the phenolate O and imine N atoms of the ligand. Two axial positions are taken up by an O atom from water and a N atom from the cyanide group. The [Fe(CN)6] core in the crystal structure links the two [Mn(salen)(H2O)] moieties together. In addition, the isolated complexes have been utilized as mediators for the electron transfer between the laccase and the electrode. Moreover, using structural data for the laccase, computational docking simulations were also performed towards the hydrophobic pocket on the surface of the laccase to determine how the complex behaved in the vicinity of a so-called hydrophobic pocket on the surface outside of the Type-1 site. Additionally, the parameters of mediator concentration, temperature, and electrode conditions (CNT, MXene) were used to investigate the electron transfer mechanism.

Calculation of Resonance Raman Spectra and Excited State Properties for Blue Copper Protein Model Complexes

Laccase enzymes have been investigated for their potential as eco-friendly biofuel cell cathode catalysts. In these applications, electrons transfer from the electrode directly to the so-called Type 1 (T1) redox site within the enzyme. Over the years, resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy has been utilized to probe the nature of ligand interactions with the Cu2+ center at the T1 site of the resting, oxidized form of laccases and related blue copper proteins. Spectral interpretation has been guided by parallel studies of small molecule T1 site mimics. Reported herein are results of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations performed on a series of experimentally well-studied T1 site mimics based on Cu2+ thiolate complexes stabilized by either a tridentate tris(pyrazolyl)hydroborate ligand or a bidentate β-diketiminate ligand. Vertical excitation energies were computed for the first 10 doublet states of each complex. The electronic absorption and RR spectra derived show excellent agreement with the experiment. RR spectra were dominated by a strong Cu–S stretching transition near 400 cm–1, which is sensitive to molecular conformation within the thiolate ligand. The results provide a foundation to build from in advancing models of laccase catalytic active sites in support of sustainable technologies.

Electrochemical characterization of an engineered red copper protein featuring an unprecedented entropic control of the reduction potential

Copper is a ubiquitous metal in biology that, among other functions, is implicated in enzymatic redox catalysis and in protein electron transfer (ET). When it comes to ET, copper sites are found in two main forms, mononuclear type 1 (T1) and binuclear CuA sites, which share a common cupredoxin fold. Other relevant copper sites are the so-called type 2 (T2), which are more resilient to undergo direct electrochemistry and are usually involved in catalysis. Here we report the electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization of a novel T2-like copper site engineered following the loop swapping strategy. The ligand loop sequence of the newly discovered T1 copper site from Nitrosopumilus maritimus was introduced into the CuA scaffold from Thermus thermophilus yielding a chimeric protein that shows spectroscopic features different from both parental proteins, and resemble those of red T2 copper sites, albeit with a shorter Cu-S(Cys) bond length. The novel T2 site undergoes efficient direct electrochemistry, which allows performing temperature-dependent cyclic voltammetry studies. The obtained results reveal that this chimera constitutes the first example of a copper protein with entropically controlled reduction potential, thereby contrasting the enthalpic supremacy observed for all other copper sites reported so far. The underlying bases for this entropic control are critically discussed.

Electron Transfer to the Trinuclear Copper Cluster in Electrocatalysis by the Multicopper Oxidases.

High-potential multicopper oxidases (MCOs) are excellent catalysts able to perform the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at remarkably low overpotentials. Moreover, MCOs are able to interact directly with the electrode surfaces via direct electron transfer (DET), that makes them the most commonly used electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction in biofuel cells. The central question in MCO electrocatalysis is whether the type 1 (T1) Cu is the primary electron acceptor site from the electrode, or whether electrons can be transferred directly to the trinuclear copper cluster (TNC), bypassing the rate-limiting intramolecular electron transfer step from the T1 site. Here, using site-directed mutagenesis and electrochemical methods combined with data modeling of electrode kinetics, we have found that there is no preferential superexchange pathway for DET to the T1 site. However, due to the high reorganization energy of the fully oxidized TNC, electron transfer from the electrode to the TNC does occur primarily through the T1 site. We have further demonstrated that the lower reorganization energy of the TNC in its two-electron reduced, alternative resting, form enables DET to the TNC, but this only occurs in the first turnover. This study provides insight into the factors that control the kinetics of electrocatalysis by the MCOs and a guide for the design of more efficient biocathodes for the ORR.

The Resting Oxidized State of Small Laccase Analyzed with Paramagnetic NMR Spectroscopy.

The enzyme laccase catalyzes the reduction of dioxygen to water at the trinuclear copper center (TNC). The TNC comprises a type‐3 (T3) and a type‐2 (T2) copper site. The paramagnetic NMR spectrum of the small laccase from Streptomyces coelicolor (SLAC) without the substrate shows a mixture of two catalytic states, the resting oxidized (RO) state and the native intermediate (NI) state. An analysis of the resonances of the RO state is reported. In this state, hydrogen resonances only of the T3 copper ligands can be found, in the region of 12–22 ppm. Signals from all six histidine ligands are found and can be attributed to Hδ1, Hβ or backbone amide HN nuclei. Two sequence‐specific assignments are proposed on the basis of a second‐coordination shell variant that also lacks the copper ion at the T1 site, SLAC−T1D/Q291E. This double mutant is found to be exclusively in the RO state, revealing a subtle balance between the RO and the NI states.

Towards resolving the complex paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of small laccase: assignments of resonances to residue-specific nuclei.

Laccases efficiently reduce dioxygen to water in an active site containing a tri-nuclear copper centre (TNC). The dynamics of the protein matrix is a determining factor in the efficiency in catalysis. To probe mobility, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is highly suitable. However, several factors complicate the assignment of resonances to active site nuclei in laccases. The paramagnetic nature causes large shifts and line broadening. Furthermore, the presence of slow chemical exchange processes of the imidazole rings of copper ligand results in peak doubling. A third complicating factor is that the enzyme occurs in two states, the native intermediate (NI) and resting oxidized (RO) states, with different paramagnetic properties. The present study aims at resolving the complex paramagnetic NMR spectra of the TNC of Streptomyces coelicolor small laccase (SLAC). With a combination of paramagnetically tailored NMR experiments, all eight His N1 and H1 resonances for the NI state are identified, as well as His H protons for the RO state. With the help of second-shell mutagenesis, selective resonances are tentatively assigned to the histidine ligands of the copper in the type-2 site. This study demonstrates the utility of the approaches used for the sequence-specific assignment of the paramagnetic NMR spectra of ligands in the TNC that ultimately may lead to a description of the underlying motion.

New class of tridentate 3N ligands and copper(II) complexes: A model for type-2 copper site of phenoxazinone synthase

A new series of copper(II) complexes [Cu(L)Cl2] 1–5, where L is dimethyl-(2-{[(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-amino]-methyl}-phenyl)-amine (L1); dimethyl-{2-[(2-pyridin-2-yl-ethylamino)-methyl]-phenyl}-amine (L2); 2-((3-(dimethylamino) propylamino)-methyl)-N,N-dimethylbenzenamine (L3); 2-((2-(dimethylamino) ethylamino) methyl)-N,N-dimethylbenzenamine (L4) and (2-{[(1H-benzimidazole-2-ylmethyl)-amino]-methyl}-phenyl)-dimethylamine (L5) have been synthesized and characterized as the model for type 2 copper site in phenoxazinone synthases. The molecular structure of 1 exhibits nearly a perfect square pyramidal geometry (τ, 0.01). The complexes showed Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox potentials around −0.128 to −0.215 V in water. The electronic spectra of 1–5 exhibited d-d transitions around 620–643 nm in water. All the complexes exhibit almost similar electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) parameter (g||, 2.21–2.27; A||, 161–175 × 10−4 cm−1) corresponds to square-based geometry. The complexes have catalyzed the conversion of substrate 2-aminophenol into 2-aminophenoxazine-3-one using molecular oxygen. The formation was accomplished by appearance of a new absorption band at 433 nm with the reaction rate of 6.14–9.89 × 10−3 s−1 in water.

A Single-Crystal EPR Study at 95 GHz of the Type-2 Copper Site of Nitrite Reductase From Alcaligenes faecalis

An electron spin echo-detected electron paramagnetic resonance study has been performed on the type-2 copper site of the nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes faecalis. The experiment on a single crystal at 95 GHz has allowed the determination of the complete g tensor. This includes the orientations of the principal axes of three g tensors in the asymmetric unit of the unit cell with respect to the crystallographic axes. The orientation with respect to the crystallographic axes has been translated into the orientation of the g tensor in the type-2 copper site. The corresponding electronic structure is discussed in relation to the enzymatic function of this copper site.

Comparison of First-Order Sorption Kinetics Using Concept of Two-Site Sorption Model

We compared two different approaches available in the literature for first-order sorption kinetics, which constitutes the slow time-dependent part of the two-site sorption model commonly used for solute transport. One approach assumes that sorbed concentrations in the Type-1 site (S(1)) and the Type-2 site (S(2)) are directly associated with a solute concentration (C) in liquid phase by forming two-site sorption with a parallel interface; the other assumes that S(2) is associated with only S(1) at the Type-1 site, resulting in two-site sorption with a serial interface. Application of different kinetics to a batch system where solute mass is conserved resulted in an identical type of liquid and sorbed concentration versus time equation in the form of exponential decay. However, because of the different structure and components used to define the kinetic part (S(2)), some parameters estimated from observed kinetic sorption data deviated significantly from one another. For instance, the fraction (f) of the Type-1 site varied as much as twofold, which led to different transport behavior. This indicates that choice of the kinetic part in the two-site sorption model becomes important when attempting appropriate transport modeling on reactive solutes.

Vaccine-Induced Protection Against Murine Schistosomiasis Mansoni with Larval Excretory–Secretory Antigens and Papain or Type-2 Cytokines

Schistosoma mansoni glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (SG3PDH), peroxiredoxin (TPX), and other larval excretory-secretory products (ESP) essentially induce T helper (Th) 1 and Th17 immune responses during a non-protective natural infection. Such an immune environment promotes production of nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide by interferon-γ-activated monocytes and interleukin (IL)-17-mediated recruitment and activation of neutrophils; however, it also likely prevents engagement of eosinophils and basophils in the hunt for developing larvae. We reasoned that polarizing ESP-induced immune responses toward a Th2 phenotype, via the use of cysteine proteases or type-2 cytokines, would lead to almost total parasite elimination. Accordingly, outbred mice were immunized with 10 μg recombinant SG3PDH and 15 μg TPX-derived peptide together with 10 μg papain, or 200 ng thymic stromal lymphopoietin, IL-25, or IL-33 as an adjuvant. Two weeks later, untreated mice, adjuvant controls, and immunized mice were challenged with 100 or 125 cercariae. Results of 6 experiments indicated that these formulations elicited IgM, IgG1, and IgA specific antibodies, and an increase in ex vivo spleen cells release of IL-4 and IL-5 correlated with highly significant (up to P < 0.0001) reduction of 62 to 78% in challenge worm burden. Improvement of ESP selection, singly or in a combination, and immunization regimen, namely ESP and type-2 cytokine dose and injection site and schedule, could lead to a sterilizing schistosomiasis vaccine in the foreseeable future.

In silico study of structural determinants modulating the redox potential of Rigidoporus lignosus and other fungal laccases

Laccases are multicopper oxidases in which substrate oxidation takes place at the type-1 (T1) copper site. The redox potential (E 0) significantly varies amongst members of the family and is a key parameter for substrate specificity. Despite sharing highly conserved features at the T1 copper site, laccases span a large range of E 0, suggesting that the influence of the metal secondary coordination sphere is important. In silico analysis of structural determinants modulating the E 0 of Rigidoporus lignosus and other fungal laccases indicated that different factors can be considered. First, the length of the T1 copper coordinating histidine bond is observed to be longer in high E 0 laccases than in low E 0 ones. The hydrophobic environment around the T1 copper site appeared as another important structural determinant in modulating the E 0, with a stronger hydrophobic environment correlating with higher E 0. The analysis of hydrogen bonding network (HBN) around the T1-binding pocket revealed that the amino acids building up the metal binding site strongly interact with neighbouring residues and contribute to the stabilization of the protein folds. Changes in these HBNs that modified the Cu1 preferred coordination geometry lead to an increase of E 0. The presence of axial ligands modulates the E 0 of T1 to different extent. Stacking interactions between aromatic residues located in the second coordination shell and the metal ion coordination histidine imidazole ring have also been identified as a factor that modulates the E 0. The electrostatic interactions between the T1 copper site and backbone carbonyl oxygen indicate that Cu1–CO=NH distance is longer in the high E 0 laccases. In short, the in silico study reported herein identifies several structural factors that may influence the E 0 of the examined laccases. Some of these are dependent on the nature of the coordination ligands at the T1 site, but others can be ascribed to the hydrophobic effects, HBNs, axial ligations, stacking and electrostatic interactions, not necessary directly interacting with the copper metal.

Spectroelectrochemical Investigation of Intramolecular and Interfacial Electron-Transfer Rates Reveals Differences Between Nitrite Reductase at Rest and During Turnover

A combined fluorescence and electrochemical method is described that is used to simultaneously monitor the type-1 copper oxidation state and the nitrite turnover rate of a nitrite reductase (NiR) from Alcaligenes faecalis S-6. The catalytic activity of NiR is measured electrochemically by exploiting a direct electron transfer to fluorescently labeled enzyme molecules immobilized on modified gold electrodes, whereas the redox state of the type-1 copper site is determined from fluorescence intensity changes caused by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between a fluorophore attached to NiR and its type-1 copper site. The homotrimeric structure of the enzyme is reflected in heterogeneous interfacial electron-transfer kinetics with two monomers having a 25-fold slower kinetics than the third monomer. The intramolecular electron-transfer rate between the type-1 and type-2 copper site changes at high nitrite concentration (≥520 μM), resulting in an inhibition effect at low pH and a catalytic gain in enzyme activity at high pH. We propose that the intramolecular rate is significantly reduced in turnover conditions compared to the enzyme at rest, with an exception at low pH/nitrite conditions. This effect is attributed to slower reduction rate of type-2 copper center due to a rate-limiting protonation step of residues in the enzyme's active site, gating the intramolecular electron transfer.

Intramolecular electron transfer in laccases

Rate constants and activation parameters have been determined for the internal electron transfer from type 1 (T1) to type 3 (T3) copper ions in laccase from both the fungus Trametes hirsuta and the lacquer tree Rhus vernicifera, using the pulse radiolysis method. The rate constant at 298 K and the enthalpy and entropy of activation were 25 ± 1 s(-1), 39.7 ± 5.0 kJ·mol(-1) and -87 ± 9 J·mol(-1) ·K(-1) for the fungal enzyme and 1.1 ± 0.1 s(-1), 9.8 ± 0.2 kJ·mol(-1) and -211 ± 3 J·mol(-1) ·K(-1) for the tree enzyme. The initial reduction of the T1 site by pulse radiolytically produced radicals was direct in the case of T. hirsuta laccase, but occured indirectly via a disulfide radical in R. vernicifera. The equilibrium constant that characterizes the electron transfer from T1 to T3 copper ions was 0.4 for T. hirsuta laccase and 1.5 for R. vernicifera laccase, leading to full reduction of the T1 site occurring at 2.9 ± 0.2 electron equivalents for T. hirsuta and 4 electron equivalents for R. vernicifera laccase. These results were compared with each other and with those for the same process in other multicopper oxidases, ascorbate oxidase and Streptomyces coelicolor laccase, using available structural information and electron transfer theory.

Identification of a Radical Intermediate in the Enzymatic Reduction of Oxygen by a Small Laccase

The enzyme mechanism of the Cu-containing small laccase (SLAC) from Streptomyces coelicolor has been investigated by optical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. A new intermediate was identified after the reaction of molecular oxygen with the reduced trinuclear site of the type-1-depleted (T1D) form of the enzyme. It has the fingerprint of a biradical with a triplet ground state. One of the spins resides on a Cu in the trinuclear site, tentatively identified as the type-2 site, while the other spin derives from a protein-based radical. The latter is tentatively identified as a tyrosyl radical on the basis of the similarity of the optical characteristics with those observed for a Cu tyrosyl radical pair. The spin-spin distance was found to be 5.0 +/- 0.2 A.

A variable temperature spectroscopic study on Paracoccus pantotrophus pseudoazurin: Protein constraints on the blue Cu site

The blue or Type 1 (T1) copper site of Paracoccuspantotrophus pseudoazurin exhibits significant absorption intensity in both the 450 and 600 nm regions. These are sigma and pi S(Cys) to Cu(2+) charge transfer (CT) transitions. The temperature dependent absorption, EPR, and resonance Raman (rR) vibrations enhanced by these bands indicate that a single species is present at all temperatures. This contrasts the temperature dependent behavior of the T1 center in nitrite reductase [S. Ghosh, X. Xie, A. Dey, Y. Sun, C. Scholes, E. Solomon, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106 (2009) 4969-4974] which has a thioether ligand that is unconstrained by the protein. The lack of temperature dependence in the T1 site in pseudoazurin indicates the presence of a protein constraint similar to the blue Cu site in plastocyanin where the thioether ligand is constrained at 2.8 A. However, plastocyanin exhibits only pi CT. This spectral difference between pseudoazurin and plastocyanin reflects a coupled distortion of the site where the axial thioether in pseudoazurin is also constrained, but at a shorter Cu-S(Met) bond length. This leads to an increase in the Cu(2+)-S(Cys) bond length, and the site undergoes a partial tetragonal distortion in pseudoazurin. Thus, its ground state wavefunction has both sigma and pi character in the Cu(2+)-S(Cys) bond.

Models of noncoupled dinuclear copper centers in azurin

The successful modeling of metalloproteins is an important step in understanding their structure and function. Toward this goal, models of the noncoupled copper centers found in the enzymes peptidyl alpha-hydroxylating monooxygenase (PHM), dopamine beta-monooxygenase (DBM), and nitrite reductase (NiR) were designed into the small soluble protein azurin. The models are significant because they maintain the existing type 1 (T1) copper, electron transfer site of azurin while including the second designed type 2 (T2) copper center that mimics the T2 catalytic sites in the target enzymes. UV-vis absorption and EPR spectroscopy data of the model sites are consistent with T2 centers and establish copper binding at the sites, thus modeling those found in PHM/DBM and NiR. Importantly the models' approximate 11-13 A separation between the T1 and T2 copper sites is comparable with the separations in the native systems. This, along with the power to tune the T1 site redox potential in azurin, allows for the future evaluation of relevant activity assays in these models.

Substrate-binding Sites of UBR1, the Ubiquitin Ligase of the N-end Rule Pathway

Substrates of a ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic system called the N-end rule pathway include proteins with destabilizing N-terminal residues. N-recognins, the pathway's ubiquitin ligases, contain three substrate-binding sites. The type-1 site is specific for basic N-terminal residues (Arg, Lys, and His). The type-2 site is specific for bulky hydrophobic N-terminal residues (Trp, Phe, Tyr, Leu, and Ile). We show here that the type-1/2 sites of UBR1, the sole N-recognin of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are located in the first approximately 700 residues of the 1,950-residue UBR1. These sites are distinct in that they can be selectively inactivated by mutations, identified through a genetic screen. Mutations inactivating the type-1 site are in the previously delineated approximately 70-residue UBR motif characteristic of N-recognins. Fluorescence polarization and surface plasmon resonance were used to determine that UBR1 binds, with a K(d) of approximately 1 microm, to either type-1 or type-2 destabilizing N-terminal residues of reporter peptides but does not bind to a stabilizing N-terminal residue such as Gly. A third substrate-binding site of UBR1 targets an internal degron of CUP9, a transcriptional repressor of peptide import. We show that the previously demonstrated in vivo dependence of CUP9 ubiquitylation on the binding of cognate dipeptides to the type-1/2 sites of UBR1 can be reconstituted in a completely defined in vitro system. We also found that purified UBR1 and CUP9 interact nonspecifically and that specific binding (which involves, in particular, the binding by cognate dipeptides to the UBR1 type-1/2 sites) can be restored either by a chaperone such as EF1A or through macromolecular crowding.

Electronic structure of the peroxy intermediate and its correlation to the native intermediate in the multicopper oxidases: insights into the reductive cleavage of the o-o bond.

The multicopper oxidases (MCOs) utilize a blue type 1 (T1) copper site and a trinuclear Cu cluster composed of a type 2 (T2) and a binuclear type 3 (T3) site that together catalyze the four-electron reduction of O2 to H2O. Reaction of the fully reduced enzyme with O2 proceeds via two sequential two-electron steps generating the peroxy intermediate (PI) and the native intermediate (NI). While a detailed description of the geometric and electronic structure of NI has been developed, this has been more elusive for PI largely due to the diamagnetic nature of its ground state. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to correlate to spectroscopic data to generate a description of the geometric and electronic structure of PI. A highly conserved carboxylate residue near the T2 site is found to play a critical role in stabilizing the PI structure, which induces oxidation of the T2 and one T3 Cu center and strong superexchange stabilization via the peroxide bridge, allowing irreversible binding of O2 at the trinuclear Cu site. Correlation of PI to NI is achieved using a two-dimensional potential energy surface generated to describe the catalytic two-electron reduction of the peroxide O-O bond by the MCOs. It is found that the reaction is thermodynamically driven by the relative stability of NI and the involvement of the simultaneous two-electron-transfer process. A low activation barrier (calculated approximately 5-6 kcal/mol and experimental approximately 3-5 kcal/mol) is produced by the triangular topology of the trinuclear Cu cluster site, as this symmetry provides good donor-acceptor frontier molecular orbital (FMO) overlap. Finally, the O-O bond cleavage in the trinuclear Cu cluster can be achieved via either a proton-assisted or a proton-unassisted process, allowing the MCOs to function over a wide range of pH. It is found that while the proton helps to stabilize the acceptor O22- sigma* orbital in the proton-assisted process for better donor-acceptor FMO overlap, the third oxidized Cu center in the trinuclear site assumes the role as a Lewis acid in the proton-unassisted process for similarly efficient O-O bond cleavage.

Type-2 copper-containing enzymes.

Type-2 Cu sites are found in all the major branches of life and are often involved in the catalysis of oxygen species. Four type-2 Cu protein families are selected as model systems for review: amine oxidases, Cu monooxygenases, nitrite reductase/multicopper oxidase, and CuZn superoxide dismutase. For each model protein, the availability of multiple crystal structures and detailed enzymological studies provides a detailed molecular view of the type-2 Cu site and delineation of the mechanistic role of the Cu in biological function. Comparison of these model proteins leads to the identification of common properties of the Cu sites and insight into the evolution of the trinuclear active site found in multicopper oxidases.