Cytochrome bd confers nitric oxide resistance to Escherichia coli

The aerobic respiratory chain of Escherichia coli has two terminal quinol oxidases: cytochrome bo and cytochrome bd. Cytochrome bd was thought to function solely to facilitate micro-aerobic respiration. However, it has recently been shown to be overexpressed under conditions of nitric oxide (NO) stress; we show here that cytochrome bd is crucial for protecting E. coli cells from NO-induced growth inhibition by virtue of its fast NO dissociation rate.