Advances in Inorganic Chemistry: Iron-sulfur Proteins v. 38

Dedicated to Professor Helmut Beinert, this volume contains contributions from some of the foremost workers in the field of iron-sulfur proteins. This important class of metalloproteins contains clusters of iron and sulfur atoms, and was originally discovered as electron transfer agents involved in the bioenergetics of animals, plants, and bacteria. Since Beinert's pioneering work beginning nearly 40 years ago, iron-sulfur proteins have been the subject of intense investigation as this book demonstrates. Recent years have seen the discovery of (3Fe-4S) clusters, cluster interconversions, the formation of mixed-metal clusters, and direct participation of clusters in catalysis. Studies of molecular evolution of these proteins have revealed unexpected sequence homolgies, and most recently, the apparent involvement of iron-sulfur proteins in post-transciptional regulatory mechanisms.