Electrochemical cofactor recycling of bacterial microcompartments

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are prokaryotic organelles that consist of a protein shell which sequesters metabolic reactions in its interior. While most of the substrates and products are relatively small and can permeate the shell, many of the encapsulated enzymes require cofactors that must be regenerated inside. We have analyzed the occurrence of an enzyme previously assigned as a cobalamin (vitamin B₁₂) reductase and, curiously, found it in many unrelated BMC types that do not employ B₁₂ cofactors. We propose NAD+ regeneration as a new function of this enzyme and name it MNdh, for Metabolosome NADH dehydrogenase. Its partner shell protein BMC-T^SE assists in passing the generated electrons to the outside. We support this hypothesis with bioinformatic analysis, functional assays, EPR spectroscopy, protein voltammetry and structural modeling verified with X-ray footprinting. This discovery represents a new paradigm for the BMC field, identifying a new, widely occurring route for cofactor recycling and a new function for the shell as separating redox environments.