Stigmatellin is a potent inhibitor

Enzyme inhibitor

An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to enzymes and decreases their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...

 of the quinol oxidation (Qo) site of the cytochrome bc1 complex in mitochondria and the cytochrome b6f complex of thylakoid

Thylakoid

A thylakoid is a membrane-bound compartment inside chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. They are the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. Thylakoids consist of a thylakoid membrane surrounding a thylakoid lumen. Chloroplast thylakoids frequently form stacks of disks referred to as...

 membrane

Cell membrane

The cell membrane or plasma membrane is a biological membrane that separates the interior of all cells from the outside environment. The cell membrane is selectively permeable to ions and organic molecules and controls the movement of substances in and out of cells. It basically protects the cell...

s.

Stigmatellin is isolated from the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantica, and contains a 5,7-dimethoxy-8-hydroxychromone aromatic headgroup with a hydrophobic alkenyl chain in position 2 . Crystal structures for stigmatellin-inhibited bovine and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) bc1 complex are available. Stigmatellin binds at the cytochrome b

Cytochrome b

Cytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...

 Qo site in the '(heme) bl distal' position, and associates with the Rieske iron-sulfur protein

Iron-sulfur protein

Iron-sulfur proteins are proteins characterized by the presence of iron-sulfur clusters containing sulfide-linked di-, tri-, and tetrairon centers in variable oxidation states...

 via a hydrogen bond

Hydrogen bond

A hydrogen bond is the attractive interaction of a hydrogen atom with an electronegative atom, such as nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine, that comes from another molecule or chemical group. The hydrogen must be covalently bonded to another electronegative atom to create the bond...

 to histidine

Histidine

Histidine Histidine, an essential amino acid, has a positively charged imidazole functional group. It is one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids. Its codons are CAU and CAC. Histidine was first isolated by German physician Albrecht Kossel in 1896. Histidine is an essential amino acid in humans...

 residue 181 (His-181), a ligand to the [2Fe2S] iron-sulfur cluster of this subunit. This association raises the midpoint potential of the iron-sulfur cluster from 290 to 540 mV and restricts movement of the cytoplasmic domain of the Rieske protein

Rieske protein

Rieske proteins are iron-sulfur protein components of cytochrome bc1 complexes and cytochrome b6f complexes which were first discovered and isolated by John S. Rieske and co-workers in 1964. It is a unique [2Fe-2S] cluster in that one of the two Fe atoms is coordinated by two histidine residues...

.

Reference: von Jagow, G., and Link, T.A. Methods in Enzymology 126: 253-271 (1986)