Nitrogenase Reduction Research Articles

Evidence That the Pi Release Event Is the Rate-Limiting Step in the Nitrogenase Catalytic Cycle.

Nitrogenase reduction of dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) involves a sequence of events that occur upon the transient association of the reduced Fe protein containing two ATP molecules with the MoFe protein that includes electron transfer, ATP hydrolysis, Pi release, and dissociation of the oxidized, ADP-containing Fe protein from the reduced MoFe protein. Numerous kinetic studies using the nonphysiological electron donor dithionite have suggested that the rate-limiting step in this reaction cycle is the dissociation of the Fe protein from the MoFe protein. Here, we have established the rate constants for each of the key steps in the catalytic cycle using the physiological reductant flavodoxin protein in its hydroquinone state. The findings indicate that with this reductant, the rate-limiting step in the reaction cycle is not protein-protein dissociation or reduction of the oxidized Fe protein, but rather events associated with the Pi release step. Further, it is demonstrated that (i) Fe protein transfers only one electron to MoFe protein in each Fe protein cycle coupled with hydrolysis of two ATP molecules, (ii) the oxidized Fe protein is not reduced when bound to MoFe protein, and (iii) the Fe protein interacts with flavodoxin using the same binding interface that is used with the MoFe protein. These findings allow a revision of the rate-limiting step in the nitrogenase Fe protein cycle.

ENDOR/HYSCORE Studies of the Common Intermediate Trapped during Nitrogenase Reduction of N2H2, CH3N2H, and N2H4Support an Alternating Reaction Pathway for N2Reduction

Enzymatic N(2) reduction proceeds along a reaction pathway composed of a sequence of intermediate states generated as a dinitrogen bound to the active-site iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMo-co) of the nitrogenase MoFe protein undergoes six steps of hydrogenation (e(-)/H(+) delivery). There are two competing proposals for the reaction pathway, and they invoke different intermediates. In the 'Distal' (D) pathway, a single N of N(2) is hydrogenated in three steps until the first NH(3) is liberated, and then the remaining nitrido-N is hydrogenated three more times to yield the second NH(3). In the 'Alternating' (A) pathway, the two N's instead are hydrogenated alternately, with a hydrazine-bound intermediate formed after four steps of hydrogenation and the first NH(3) liberated only during the fifth step. A recent combination of X/Q-band EPR and (15)N, (1,2)H ENDOR measurements suggested that states trapped during turnover of the α-70(Ala)/α-195(Gln) MoFe protein with diazene or hydrazine as substrate correspond to a common intermediate (here denoted I) in which FeMo-co binds a substrate-derived [N(x)H(y)] moiety, and measurements reported here show that turnover with methyldiazene generates the same intermediate. In the present report we describe X/Q-band EPR and (14/15)N, (1,2)H ENDOR/HYSCORE/ESEEM measurements that characterize the N-atom(s) and proton(s) associated with this moiety. The experiments establish that turnover with N(2)H(2), CH(3)N(2)H, and N(2)H(4) in fact generates a common intermediate, I, and show that the N-N bond of substrate has been cleaved in I. Analysis of this finding leads us to conclude that nitrogenase reduces N(2)H(2), CH(3)N(2)H, and N(2)H(4) via a common A reaction pathway, and that the same is true for N(2) itself, with Fe ion(s) providing the site of reaction.

Electron transport to nitrogenase in Rhodospirillum rubrum: the role of NAD(P)H as electron donor and the effect of fluoroacetate on nitrogenase activity

The role of the reactions of the TCA cycle in the generation of reductant for nitrogenase in Rhodospirillum rubrum has been investigated. Addition of fluoroacetate inhibited nitrogenase activity almost completely when pyruvate or endogenous sources were used as electron donors, whereas the inhibition was incomplete when malate, succinate or fumarate were used. Addition of NAD(P)H to cells supported nitrogenase activity, both with and without prior addition of fluoroacetate. We suggest that the role of the TCA cycle in nitrogen fixation in R. rubrum is to generate reduced pyridine nucleotides which are oxidized by the components of the electron transport pathway to nitrogenase.

Intermediates Trapped during Nitrogenase Reduction of N⋮N, CH3−NNH, and H2N−NH2

A high population intermediate has been trapped on the nitrogenase active site FeMo cofactor during reduction of N2. In addition, intermediates have been trapped during reduction of CH3-N=NH by the alpha-195Gln variant and during reduction of H2N-NH2 by the alpha-70Ala/alpha-195Gln variant. Each of these trapped states shows an EPR signal arising from an S = 1/2 state of the FeMo cofactor. 15N ENDOR shows that each intermediate has a nitrogenous species bound to the FeMo cofactor, with a single type of N seen for each bound intermediate. The g tensors are unique to each intermediate, g(e) = [2.084, 1.993, 1.969], g(m) = [2.083, 2.021, 1.993], g(l) = [2.082, 2.015, 1.987], as are the 15N hyperfine couplings at g1, which suggests that three distinct stages of NN reduction may have been trapped. The 1H ENDOR spectra show that the N2 intermediate is at a distinct and earlier stage of reduction from the other two, so at least two stages of NN reduction have been trapped. Some possible structures of the hydrazine intermediate are presented.

An organometallic intermediate during alkyne reduction by nitrogenase.

Nitrogenase is the metalloenzyme that catalyzes the nucleotide-dependent reduction of N(2), as well as reduction of a variety of other triply bonded substrates, including the alkyne, acetylene. Substitution of the alpha-70(Val) residue in the nitrogenase MoFe protein by alanine expands the range of substrates to include short-chain alkynes not reduced by the unaltered protein. Rapid freezing of the alpha-70(Ala) nitrogenase MoFe protein during reduction of the alkyne propargyl alcohol (HC triple bond CH(2)OH; PA) traps an S = (1)/(2) intermediate state of the active-site metal cluster, the FeMo-cofactor. We have combined CW and pulsed (13)C ENDOR (electron-nuclear double resonance) with two quantitative 35 GHz (1,2)H ENDOR techniques, Mims pulsed ENDOR and the newly devised "stochastic field-modulated" ENDOR, to study this intermediate prepared with isotopically substituted ((13)C, (1,2)H) propargyl alcohol in H(2)O and D(2)O buffers. These measurements allow the first description of a trapped nitrogenase reduction intermediate. The S = (1)/(2) turnover intermediate generated during the reduction of PA contains the 3-carbon chain of PA and exhibits resolved (1,2)H ENDOR signals from three protons, two strongly coupled (H(a)) and one weakly coupled (H(b)); H(a)(c) originates as the C3 proton of PA, while H(a)(s) and H(b) are solvent-derived. The two H(a) protons have identical hyperfine tensors, despite having different origins. The equality of the (H(a)(s), H(a)(c)) hyperfine tensors strongly constrains proposals for the structure of the cluster-bound reduced PA. Through consideration of model structures found in the Cambridge Structural Database, we propose that the intermediate contains a novel bio-organometallic complex in which a reduction product of propargyl alcohol binds as a metalla-cyclopropane ring to a single Fe atom of the Fe-S face of the FeMo-cofactor that is composed of Fe atoms 2, 3, 6, and 7. Of the two most attractive structures, one singly reduced at C3 (4), the other being the doubly reduced allyl alcohol product (6), we tentatively favor 6 because of the "natural" assignment it affords for H(b).

Nitrogenase reduction of carbon disulfide: freeze-quench EPR and ENDOR evidence for three sequential intermediates with cluster-bound carbon moieties.

Freeze-quenching of nitrogenase during reduction of carbon disulfide (CS(2)) was previously shown to result in the appearance of a novel EPR signal (g = 2.21, 1.99, and 1.97) not previously associated with any of the oxidation states of the nitrogenase metal clusters. In the present work, freeze-quench X- and Q-band EPR and Q-band (13)C electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopic studies of nitrogenase during CS(2) reduction disclose the sequential formation of three distinct intermediates with a carbon-containing fragment of CS(2) bound to a metal cluster inferred to be the molybdenum-iron cofactor. Modeling of the Q-band (35 GHz) EPR spectrum of freeze-trapped samples of nitrogenase during turnover with CS(2) allowed assignment of three signals designated "a" (g = 2.035, 1.982, 1.973), "b" (g = 2.111, 2.002, and 1.956), and "c" (g = 2.211, 1. 996, and 1.978). Freezing samples at varying times after initiation of the reaction reveals that signals "a", "b", and "c" appear and disappear in sequential order. Signal "a" reaches a maximal intensity at 25 s; signal "b" achieves maximal intensity at 60 s; and signal "c" shows maximal intensity at 100 s. To characterize the intermediates, (13)CS(2) was used as a substrate, and freeze-trapped turnover samples were examined by Q-band (13)C ENDOR spectroscopy. Each EPR signal ("a", "b", and "c") gave rise to a distinct (13)C signal, with hyperfine coupling constants of 4.9 MHz for (13)C(a), 1. 8 MHz for (13)C(b), and 2.7 MHz for (13)C(c). Models for the sequential formation of intermediates during nitrogenase reduction of CS(2) are discussed.

Acetoacetyl coenzyme A reductase and polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis in rhizobium (Cicer) sp. Strain CC 1192

Biochemical controls that regulate the biosynthesis of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) were investigated in Rhizobium (Cicer) sp. strain CC 1192. This species is of interest for studying PHB synthesis because the polymer accumulates to a large extent in free-living cells but not in bacteroids during nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) plants. Evidence is presented that indicates that CC 1192 cells retain the enzymic capacity to synthesize PHB when they differentiate from the free-living state to the bacteroid state. This evidence includes the incorporation by CC 1192 bacteroids of radiolabel from [14C]malate into 3-hydroxybutyrate which was derived by chemically degrading insoluble material from bacteroid pellets. Furthermore, the presence of an NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl coenzyme A (CoA) reductase, which was specific for R-(-)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA and NADP+ in the oxidative direction, was demonstrated in extracts from free-living and bacteroid cells of CC 1192. Activity of this enzyme in the reductive direction appeared to be regulated at the biochemical level mainly by the availability of substrates. The CC 1192 cells also contained an NADH-specific acetoacetyl-CoA reductase which oxidized S-(+)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA. A membrane preparation from CC 1192 bacteroids readily oxidized NADH but not NADPH, which is suggested to be a major source of reductant for nitrogenase. Thus, a high ratio of NADPH to NADP+, which could enhance delivery of reductant to nitrogenase, could also favor the reduction of acetoacetyl-CoA for PHB synthesis. This would mean that fine controls that regulate the partitioning of acetyl-CoA between citrate synthase and 3-ketothiolase are important in determining whether PHB accumulates.

Electron transport to nitrogenase in Rhodospirillum rubrum: the role of NAD(P)H as electron donor and the effect of fluoroacetate on nitrogenase activity

The role of the reactions of the TCA cycle in the generation of reductant for nitrogenase in Rhodospirillum rubrum has been investigated. Addition of fluoroacetate inhibited nitrogenase activity almost completely when pyruvate or endogenous sources were used as electron donors, whereas the inhibition was incomplete when malate, succinate or fumarate were used. Addition of NAD(P)H to cells supported nitrogenase activity, both with and without prior addition of fluoroacetate. We suggest that the role of the TCA cycle in nitrogen fixation in R. rubrum is to generate reduced pyridine nucleotides which are oxidized by the components of the electron transport pathway to nitrogenase.

Electron transport to nitrogenase in Rhodospirillum rubrum: Role of energization of the chromatophore membrane

Nitrogen fixation is dependent on a source of ATP and the generation of a reductant at low enough red-ox potential to transfer electrons to nitrogenase. In Rhodospirillum rubrum, grown photoheterotrophically, ATP is produced by photophosphorylation, a process studied in great detail, but the source of reductant for nitrogenase is as yet unidentified. In this report we have studied the effect on nitrogen fixation when the energization of the chromatophore membranes was changed, by decreasing the light intensity or by addition of uncouplers. When the light intensity was lowered a pronounced decrease in nitrogenase activity was observed although there was no decrease in the ATP/ADP ratio. The inhibition observed was not due to ADP-ribosylation, as the same effect was observed in a mutant devoid of the enzymes in the metabolic regulatory cascade operating in R. rubrum and some other diazotrophs. Even at low concentrations of the uncouplers used, a drastic decrease in the ATP/ADP ratio was observed. However, this decrease in the ATP/ADP ratio did not cause a decrease in nitrogenase activity. At higher concentrations of uncouplers, nitrogenase activity decreased but the ATP/ADP ratio remained essentially at a constant low level. These results support a model in which reduction of the electron donor(s) to nitrogenase in R. rubrum is coupled to the energization of the chromatophore membranes.

Factors Affecting the Acetylene-Induced Decline during Nitrogenase Assays in Root Nodules of Myrica gale L.

Our goal was to determine why the rate of acetylene reduction by nodules of actinorhizal plants declines after an initial peak value. The decline was eliminated by pretreatment with argon, indicating that the decline is initiated by cessation of ammonia synthesis. When O(2) concentration was decreased during the decline, the rate of acetylene reduction increased. This shows that during the decline there is either O(2) toxicity or competition between respiration and nitrogenase for reductant. The decline was not eliminated when uptake hydrogenase was inactivated by pretreatment with acetylene, showing that cessation of H(2) oxidation is not the primary cause of the decline. The effects of a variety of other treatments on the decline were also studied. Overall, we conclude that the cessation of ammonia formation is the primary cause of the acetylene-induced decline. We hypothesize that the supply of reductant for nitrogenase depends on amino acids that are depleted following cessation of ammonia formation. We also conclude that the initial peak rate of acetylene reduction provides the best measure of nitrogenase activity.

Rhodobacter capsulatus nitrogenase reduction by natural in vivo electron carriers: Reactivity with FdI reduced by chloroplasts

To date, most in vitro studies of nitrogenase action have used sodium dithionite. It is of interest to know whether various aspects of nitrogenase function are the same when it is reduced by a natural electron carrier. However, in very few cases is the in vivo electron carrier to nitrogenase known with certainty. Here it is shown using immunoblotting that Rhodobacter capsulatus ferredoxin I is probably nif specific since its synthesis is under the control of the nif regulatory gene nifR1 and is repressed by oxygen and ammonia, factors known to repress nif gene expression. Chloroplast-reduced ferredoxin I was used to investigate the effects of the substitution of a biological reductant for dithionite on some aspects of nitrogenase function. Both the effect of the dilution of total nitrogenase and the effect of titration with excess Mo-Fe protein on nitrogenase activity were unchanged. These results strongly suggest, therefore, that under the conditions used in the present study, nitrogenase components appear to freely associate and dissociate during enzyme turnover driven by ferredoxin I.

ChemInform Abstract: Transition‐Metal Complexes with Sulfur Ligands. Part 48. Nitrogenase Model Compounds: (μ‐N2H2(Fe(“NHS4”))2), the Prototype for the Coordination of Diazene to Iron Sulfur Centers and Its Stabilization Through Strong N‐H···S Hydrogen Bonds.

AbstractThe question, how the energetically extremely unfavorable intermediates in nitrogenase reduction of N2 are stabilized is answered by the complex (I) (P21/c, Z=2), which is a model complex for enzymatic nitrogen fixation in both a functional and a structural sense.

Chemically coupled spectrophotometric assays based on flow injection analysis: Determination of nitrogenase by assays for creatine, ammonia, hydrazine, phosphate, and dithionite

Micromethods of direct chemical coupling have been developed for several different enzyme reactions, using the principles of flow injection analysis. Samples of 1–25 μl are injected into a flowing stream of color-forming reagents and the peak of color change is measured after about 1 min. Alternatively, continuous slow infusion of a reacting system (5–100 μl/min) gives a continuous change of color which can be monitored to derive enzyme reaction rates. These techniques are highly sensitive, requiring a few nanomoles of the substance being detected. Phosphate, ammonia, dithionite, creatine, and hydrazine have been measured. Consumption of reagents is less than 75 ml per hour; typical sample throughput is 30–40 samples per hour by the injection method, and 5 samples per hour by continuous infusion. The precedure has been applied to nitrogenase, continuously monitoring creatine produced from creatine phosphate by creatine kinase which is used to supply a constant level of ATP for nitrogenase. In this way nitrogenase activity can be determined over a wide range of enzyme concentrations. Production of inorganic phosphate directly from ATP, by injection of formaldehyde-quenched samples, was used when coupling to creatine kinase was not possible. Both injection of aliquots and continuous infusion were used for detection of hydrazine during nitrogenase reduction of azide, and the injection method has been used for ammonia assay during dinitrogen reduction. Dithionite oxidation was measured directly from decolorization of iodine, after trapping both dithionite and bisulfite with formaldehyde.

Role of uptake hydrogenase in providing reductant for nitrogenase in Rhizobium leguminosarum bacteroids

The role of uptake hydrogenase in providing reducing power to nitrogenase was investigated in Rhizobium leguminosarum bacteroids from nodules of Pisum sativum L. (cv. Homesteader). H 2 increased the rate of C 2H 2 reduction in the absence of added substrates. Malate also increased nitrogenase (C 2H 2) activity while decreasing the effect of H 2. At exogenous malate concentrations above 0.05 mM no effect of H 2 was seen. Malate appeared to be more important as a source of reductant than of ATP. When iodoacetate was used to minimize the contribution of endogenous substrates to nitrogenase activity in an isolate in which H 2 uptake was not coupled to ATP formation, H 2 increased the rate of C 2H 2 reduction by 77%. In the presence of iodoacetate, an ATP-generating system did not enhance C 2H 2 reduction, but when H 2 was also included, the rate of C 2H 2 reduction was increased by 280% over that with the ATP-generating system alone. The data suggest that, under conditions of substrate starvation, the uptake hydrogenase in R. leguminosarum could provide reductant as well as ATP in an isolate in which the H 2 uptake is coupled to ATP formation, to the nitrogenase complex.

The role of diffusion in oxygen protection of nitrogenase in nodules of Alnus rubra

Endophyte respiration in actinorhizal nodules has two main functions: to provide ATP and reductant for nitrogenase and associated enzymes and to protect nitrogenase from inactivation by oxygen. Combined with a diffusion path which limits the flow of oxygen, the consumption of oxygen by respiration maintains a very low internal [Formula: see text]. We have used a continuous-flow root-nodule gas-exchange system to investigate the properties of such a diffusion path in intact, attached nodules of Alnus rubra infected with Frankia strain ArI3. When nodules were exposed to gas mixtures containing argon, oxygen, and acetylene, the resulting curves of ethylene production versus acetylene concentration showed diffusion-limited enzyme kinetics. Consequently, ethylene production at very low acetylene concentrations (<0.2% v/v) was used to characterize the diffusion path that both acetylene and oxygen must traverse to reach their active sites in the endophyte. The permeability of this path changed markedly with temperature and can account for the shape of the temperature response curve for total nitrogenase activity. Owing to the temperature-dependent barrier, energy production remains limited by oxygen diffusion, and nitrogenase can function over a wide temperature range at a relatively constant energy cost without inactivation by excess oxygen.

Nitrogenase reduction by electron carriers: Influence of redox potential on activity and the [formula omitted] ratio

The variation with redox potential of nitrogenase activity and the ratio of ATP hydrolyzed per two electrons transferred were measured using two systems: the dithionite/bisulfite couple at pH 7.4; and H 2, hydrogenase, and ferredoxin at pH 8.5. In both cases, the variation in nitrogenase activity with redox potential followed a theoretical Nernst plot for a two-electron process with an apparent midpoint potential of about −470 mV. The ratio ATP 2e − was about 4 under highly reducing conditions. However, above the apparent midpoint potential, the ratio ATP 2e − increased drastically, reaching values as high as 20. These data imply that a low redox potential must be maintained for efficient nitrogen fixation in vitro and in vivo.

The effect of electron transport inhibitors on nitrogenase activity in the photosynthetic bacterium,Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

It is generally believed that ferredoxin is the in vivo reductant for nitrogenase in photosynthetic bacteria, as in other nitrogen-fixing organisms [1]. PhotosYnthetic bacteria are capable of diazotrophic growth under at least five different growth modes, but the mechanism for the reduction of ferredoxin, or other in vivo nitrogenase reductants, is unknown at present. Although it has been suggested that a ferredoxin may be involved in cyclic photophosphorylation [2], and photoinduced e.p.r, signal changes corresponding to reduction of ferredoxin II have been observed in R. rubrum [3], it is not known if the primary acceptor has a redox potential low enough to reduce ferredoxin [4,5]. In photosynthetic bacteria, nitrogenase activity is ultimately dependent upon an added organic substrate, or hydrogen, as source of electrons. The requirement for ATP for N2ase functioning is presumably met by photophosphorylation or, aerobically in the dark, by oxidative phosphoryla-

Kinetic studies on electron transfer and interaction between nitrogenase components from Azotobacter vinelandii.

Kinetic properties of electron transfer by nitrogenase of Azotobacter vinelandii are dependent on the concentration of the two components of nitrogenase. An excess of the MoFe protein inhibits electron transfer in a distinctive manner, and the inhibition is reversed by increasing levels of reductant. The saturation curve for Fe protein is hyperbolic, indicating that only one Fe protein molecule per MoFe protein is required for full activity in ATP hydrolysis and electron transfer. These results can be interpreted on the basis of a complex between the Fe protein and the MoFe protein that dissociates rapidly during turnover. Both 2:1 and 1:1 complexes (Fe-MoFe) are active. Dithionite appears to be a relatively poor reductant for nitrogenase from Azotobacter vinelandii, whereas azotobacter flavodoxin is much better. In the presence of the flavodoxin it is possible to increase the specific activity of the Fe protein more than 50% relative to its activity with dithionite alone as a reductant; specific activities greater than 3000 nmol of C2H4 formed min(-1) (mg of Fe protein)(-1) have been observed.