Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra at the Cu K-edge have been recorded of the oxidized and reduced form at pH 3.5 of rusticyanin, the type-1 or ‘blue’-copper protein from Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The EXAFS of oxidized rusticyanin is well simulated with models assuming a ligand set of 2 N(His) and 1 S(Cys) at 1.99 and 2.16 Å, respectively. Upon reduction, the average Cu-N ligand distance increases by approx. 0.08Å. For both redox states studied, the fit by the simulation is significantly improved by including a contribution of an additional sulfur ligand at approx. 2.8 Å. From comparison with structural data of other blue-copper proteins, it is concluded that the copper coordination environment is relatively rigid, which may be a clue to its high redox potential.
