Ekaterina V. Pletneva
Chair, Department of Chemistry
Professor of Chemistry
Research in the Pletneva Group examines redox reactivity of metalloproteins. Our main targets are heme enzymes and electron carriers in energy pathways of bacteria. We aim to understand how coordination environment, protein dynamics, neighboring protonation and redox sites influence reactivity of redox metal ions and how electrons are guided through complex redox circuits on the molecular and regulatory levels. We employ a variety of spectroscopic and structural methods as well as molecular biology to characterize these metalloproteins and their reaction mechanisms. This research informs on fundamental aspects of biological electron transfer and its regulation in energy generation and multielectron catalysis relevant for bacterial fitness and virulence, development of switchable devices for artificial photosynthesis, and optimization of microbial-based strategies to mitigate global warming.
Contact
Department(s)
Chemistry
Education
- M.S. Higher Chemical College of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- Ph.D. Iowa State University
Selected Publications
Shin, D. W., Zhong, F., Pletneva, E. V. "Differences in functional cross-talk between loops C and D in two mitochondrial cytochromes" J. Inorg. Biochem. 2026, 276, 113182.
Yang, J., Zhong, F., Albert, T., Moënne-Loccoz, P., Pletneva, E. V. "Methionine coordination to the heme iron and its displacement by nitric oxide in the CcoP subunit of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome cbb3 oxidase" J. Inorg. Biochem. 2026, 275, 113146.
Reik, M. E., Rickett, T. C., Hoke, T. C., Pletneva, E. V. "Disabling the Entatic Control of Methionine Ligation through Additive Destabilization of Ferric Cytochrome c" Inorg. Chem. 2025 , 64, 11966-11980.
Albert, T., Pence, N., Zhong, F., Pletneva, E. V., Moënne-Loccoz, P. "A single outer-sphere amino-acid substitution turns on the NO reactivity of a hemerythrin-like protein" Chem. Sci. 2025, 16, 3238-3245.