«We want to understand the reactions
of nitrogenase in order to make the enzyme available for future biotechnological applications.
Both the industrial Haber - Bosch process and natural
nitrogenase enzymes use iron (Fe) to catalyze this challenging chemical transformation.
Still, the researchers did not expect that the methane they were seeking would be generated by iron -
only nitrogenase in this organism.
The researchers found that the organisms turned on three genes for an enzyme
called nitrogenase, which aids nitrogen fixation.
The catalytic center of
vanadium nitrogenase: an iron - vanadium cofactor with an unusual carbonate ligand.
The researchers demonstrated for the first time
how nitrogenase converts carbon monoxide.
Determining how
bacterial nitrogenase works could someday lead to better industrial production of fertilizer
The team's long term goal is to
make nitrogenase biotechnologcially useful in order to develop alternatives to industrial chemical processes.
The design proved successful because the compound binds nitrogen from the atmosphere, just
as nitrogenase does.
Vanadium
nitrogenase found in soil bacteria can in its natural setting perform the same synthesis that is only possible in industrial processes with the aid of extreme pressures and high temperatures.
«Multi-omic Dynamics Associate Oxygenic Photosynthesis
with Nitrogenase - mediated H2 production in Cyanothece sp..
«Mechanism of
Nitrogenase H2 Formation by Metal - Hydride Protonation Probed by Mediated Electrocatalysis and H / D Isotope Effects.»
At the same time it was known that a variant of
nitrogenase containing vanadium rather than molybdenum in its active center and therefore called FeVco can also convert carbon monoxide.
Thus, in addition to the so - called «Haber - Bosch process of nitrogen fixation,»
nitrogenase also stimulates a reaction corresponding to the «Fischer - Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons,» which can be used on a large scale to synthesize fuels, for instance from industrial waste gases..
Yale chemistry professor Patrick Holland and his team designed a new chemical compound with key properties that help to
explain nitrogenase.
«
Nitrogenase reacts with nitrogen at a cluster of iron and sulfur atoms, which is strange because other iron - sulfur compounds typically don't react with nitrogen, either in other enzymes or in the thousands of known iron - sulfur compounds synthesized by chemists,» Holland said.
An atomic - resolution structure of a late -
stage nitrogenase intermediate reveals nitrogen bound to iron in the active site.
But
while nitrogenase is at work, it's also creating something else: dihydrogen (H2).
A team of scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Utah State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Utah sought to understand this H2 relaxation mechanism by monitoring the effects of hydrogen (H) vs deuterium (D) on the kinetics of H2 formation
when nitrogenase is attached to an electrode.
To make sure this methane - generating pathway was not exclusive to Rhodopseudomonas palustris, they tested for similar abilities in three other nitrogen - fixing bacterial species that have iron -
only nitrogenase.
In certain organisms, ammonia is produced from atmospheric nitrogen (N2) by enzymes
called nitrogenases.
In nature, only one enzyme —
bacterial nitrogenase — can achieve the same reaction, but without emitting excess nitrogen compounds into the environment, or in other words, leaching of nitrates into groundwater.
The program focuses on development of transition - metal complexes that are inspired by the natural photosynthetic enzymes such
as nitrogenases, hydrogenases, and the oxygen - evolving complex of photosystem II with the goal of designing catalysts that are chemically stable, active, and highly selective for specific chemical targets.
Einsle's team has already taken a significant step towards greater understanding
of nitrogenase.
Within the scope of preparing his doctoral thesis, Daniel Sippel succeeded in producing and crystallizing
vanadium nitrogenase.
Nitrogenase, which takes nitrogen in the air and converts it to a biologically useful form by tacking on hydrogens, is among the modelers» most hotly pursued prizes.
Known as the core of
nitrogenase, it has been named for the elements it contains.
The research team of Prof. Dr. Oliver Einsle at the University of Freiburg's Institute of Biochemistry has long been exploring the functioning of
nitrogenase.
Keeping that in mind, Holland and his team designed a new compound with two distinct properties found in
nitrogenase: large shielding groups of atoms that prevented undesired reactions, and a weak iron - sulfur bond that could break easily upon the addition of electrons.
It has been known since 2010 that CO, an inhibitor of
Nitrogenase, is slowly converted to hydrocarbons to a minimal extent.
Einsle and his team developed this new crystal structure of the metal core of
the nitrogenase.
By applying CO gas to the enzyme during
the nitrogenase reaction, the researchers found a binding site for CO and succeeded in documenting the rearrangement.
The enzyme responsible for natural nitrogen fixation is called
nitrogenase.
They possess the enzyme
nitrogenase, which combines nitrogen with hydrogen to form ammonium.
The reason is that oxygen, a by - product of photosynthesis, poisons
the nitrogenase, Bhaya notes.
The bacteria harvest H2 from their PHB store and use
their nitrogenase to combine it with nitrogen from the air to make ammonia, the starting material for fertilizer.
Some microbes have evolved proteins called
nitrogenases that can split apart nitrogen molecules in the air and weld that nitrogen to hydrogen to make ammonia and other compounds that plants can absorb to get their nitrogen.
Nocera and his colleagues turned to a microbe called Xanthobacter autotrophicus, which naturally harbors
a nitrogenase enzyme.
But what is the mechanism for how
the nitrogenase active site iron - hydrides relaxed to make this H2?
Nitrogenase will make H2 if run in the absence of N2.
He was among the first to solve the structures of many energy - converting enzymes, including hydrogenases and
nitrogenases.
Nitrogenase is central to life on our planet.
Why It Matters: This is an important step toward understanding
nitrogenase and how and why the production of H2 is required for its activity.
This work is a critical step toward a mechanistic understanding of
the nitrogenase enzyme.
Scientists have known for some time that
nitrogenase makes H2 by two different processes.
Summary: To isolate the kinetics of hydrogen production, a team led by Lance Seefeldt, Brian Hoffman, Shelley Minteer, and Simone Raugei used small molecules to quickly shuttle electrons from an electrode to the catalytic half of
nitrogenase.
Roughly 10 percent of these nitrogen - fixing microorganisms contain the genetic code for manufacturing a back - up enzyme, called iron iron - only
nitrogenase, to do their job.
However, although iron - only
nitrogenase was identified several decades ago, scientists had not yet noticed that it, too, could be used by some microorganisms for methane production.