The interaction between horse heart cytochrome c and Chromatium vinosum flavocytochrome c-552 was studied using the water-soluble reagent 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC). Treatment of flavocytochrome c-552 with EDC was found to inhibit the sulfide: cytochrome c reductase activity of the enzyme. SDS gel electrophoresis studies revealed that EDC treatment led to modification of carboxyl groups in both the Mr 21 000 heme peptide and the Mr 46 000 flavin peptide, and also to the formation of a cross-linked heme peptide dimer with an Mr value of 42 000. Both the inhibition of sulfide: cytochrome c reductase activity and the formation of the heme peptide dimer were decreased when the EDC modification was carried out in the presence of cytochrome c. In addition, two new cross-linked species with Mr values of 34 000 and 59 000 were formed. These were identified as cross-linked cytochrome c-heme peptide and cytochrome c-flavin peptide species, respectively. Neither of these species were formed in the presence of a cytochrome c derivative in which all of the lysine amino groups had been dimethylated, demonstrating that EDC had cross-linked lysine amino groups on native cytochrome c to carboxyl groups on the heme and flavin peptides. A complex between cytochrome c and flavocytochrome c-552 was required for cross-linking to occur, since ionic strengths above 100 mM inhibited cross-linking.