Characterization of the Cytochrome c Oxidase Assembly Factor Cox19 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Cox19 is an important accessory protein in the assembly of cytochrome c oxidase in yeast. The protein is functional when tethered to the mitochondrial inner membrane, suggesting its functional role within the intermembrane space. Cox19 resembles Cox17 in having a twin CX(9)C sequence motif that adopts a helical hairpin in Cox17. The function of Cox17 appears to be a Cu(I) donor protein in the assembly of the copper centers in cytochrome c oxidase. Cox19 also resembles Cox17 in its ability to coordinate Cu(I). Recombinant Cox19 binds 1 mol eq of Cu(I) per monomer and exists as a dimeric protein. Cox19 isolated from the mitochondrial intermembrane space contains variable quantities of copper, suggesting that Cu(I) binding may be a transient property. Cysteinyl residues important for Cu(I) binding are also shown to be important for the in vivo function of Cox19. Thus, a correlation exists in the ability to bind Cu(I) and in vivo function.