Mössbauer studies on yeast metallothionein

Iron-substituted yeast metallothionein, Fe(II)-yeast-MT, has been studied by Mossbauer spectroscopy. The iron in the protein is in the high-spin ferrous state. As maximum metal content, 4 Fe(II)/molecule has been determined, with the 4 metal ions forming a diamagnetic cluster due to the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between the Fe(II) ions via bridging thiolates. In case the iron titration is less than 4 Fe(II)/apoprotein, the ions are magnetically noninteracting, with each individual Fe(II) behaving similar to Fe(II) in reduced rubredoxin.