C-methylation occurs during the biosynthesis of heme d1

The biosynthetic origin of methyl groups in heme d1 isolated from the nitrite reductase cytochrome cd1 was investigated by a stable isotope labeling experiment. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (American Type Culture Collection strain 19429) was grown on a minimal medium supplemented with [13C]methionine. The enzyme was purified, the heme extracted, converted into the free base methyl ester derivative, and purified. 1H NMR and 13C NMR indicated that only the methyl groups attached to C2 and C7 are derived from methionine.