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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1974 Feb;71(2):253–256. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.2.253

Redox Potentials of Certain Vitamins K: Implications for a Role in Sulfite Reduction by Obligately Anaerobic Bacteria

G C Wagner 1,2, R J Kassner 1,2, M D Kamen 1,2
PMCID: PMC387979  PMID: 4521797

Abstract

Redox potentials of a menaquinone (MK-6), isolated in earlier researches from two species of the obligately anaerobic genus, Desulfovibrio, as well as two other vitamins K2—menaquinones (MK-5) and (MK-9)— have been determined polarographically. The measurements have been validated by determination of redox potentials of 1,4-naphthoquinone and vitamin K1 which agree with published potentiometric values. Em7 for menaquinone (MK-6) is -0.067 ± 0.010 V. Redox potentials calculated for terminal acceptor couples currently proposed in the mechanisms of sulfate reduction by Desulfovibrio are consistent with the involvement of menaquinone (MK-6) in at least one of the steps postulated during electron transfer with ultimate production of sulfide.

Keywords: menaquinone MK-6, Desulfovibrio, terminal redox couples, bioenergetics

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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