The mechanism of interflavin electron transfer between pig kidney general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (GAD) and its physiological acceptor, electron-transferring flavoprotein (ETF), has been studied by static and stopped-flow absorbance and fluorescence measurements. At 3 degrees C, pH 7.6, reoxidation of the dehydrogenase (stoichiometrically reduced by octanoyl-CoA) by ETF is multiphasic, consisting of two rapid phases (t1/2 of about 20 and 50 ms), a slower phase half-complete in about 1 s, and a final reaction with a half-time of 20 s. Only the two most rapid phases are significant in turnover. This complicated reaction course was dissected by examining the rates of plausible individual steps, e.g., GAD2e X P + ETF1e, GAD1e X P + ETFox, and GAD1e X P + ETF1e (where P represents the product, octenoyl-CoA, and the subscripts indicate the redox state of the flavin). Rapid reaction and static fluorescence measurements, in all cases, showed that the final equilibrium mixture included appreciable levels of oxidized ETF. This was confirmed by measuring the reverse reactions, e.g., ETF1e + GADox X P, ETF1e + GAD1e X P, and ETF2e + GADox X P. These data support the following overall scheme for the reaction of GAD2e X P with ETFox: The first and second phases correspond to reoxidation of GAD2e X P in two successive one-electron steps requiring two molecules of ETFox. This results in a rapid rise in absorbance at 370 nm where the red anionic radicals of both product-complexed dehydrogenase and ETF absorb strongly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)