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Title: Catalysis-dependent selenium incorporation and migration in the nitrogenase active site iron-molybdenum cofactor

Journal Article · · eLife
DOI:https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.11620· OSTI ID:1628840
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1]
  1. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Howard Hughes Medical Inst.; California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  2. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  3. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics

Dinitrogen reduction in the biological nitrogen cycle is catalyzed by nitrogenase, a two-component metalloenzyme. Understanding of the transformation of the inert resting state of the active site FeMo-cofactor into an activated state capable of reducing dinitrogen remains elusive. Here we report the catalysis dependent, site-selective incorporation of selenium into the FeMo-cofactor from selenocyanate as a newly identified substrate and inhibitor. The 1.60 Å resolution structure reveals selenium occupying the S2B site of FeMo-cofactor in the Azotobacter vinelandii MoFe-protein, a position that was recently identified as the CO-binding site. The Se2B-labeled enzyme retains substrate reduction activity and marks the starting point for a crystallographic pulse-chase experiment of the active site during turnover. Through a series of crystal structures obtained at resolutions of 1.32–1.66 Å, including the CO-inhibited form of Av1-Se2B, the exchangeability of all three belt-sulfur sites is demonstrated, providing direct insights into unforeseen rearrangements of the metal center during catalysis.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1628840
Journal Information:
eLife, Vol. 4; ISSN 2050-084X
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd.Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (18)

The structure of vanadium nitrogenase reveals an unusual bridging ligand journal July 2017
Tracing the ‘ninth sulfur’ of the nitrogenase cofactor via a semi-synthetic approach journal April 2018
Survey of the Geometric and Electronic Structures of the Key Hydrogenated Forms of FeMo-co, the Active Site of the Enzyme Nitrogenase: Principles of the Mechanistically Significant Coordination Chemistry journal January 2019
Evaluation of the Catalytic Relevance of the CO-Bound States of V-Nitrogenase journal March 2018
Insights from $^{125}Te$ and $^{57}Fe$ nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy: a [4Fe–4Te] cluster from two points of view text January 2019
ATP-dependent substrate reduction at an [Fe 8 S 9 ] double-cubane cluster journal March 2018
X‐ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy Applied to Nitrogenase and Related Models: Experimental Evidence for a Spin‐Coupled Molybdenum(III) Center journal June 2019
Site‐Specific Oxidation State Assignments of the Iron Atoms in the [4Fe:4S] 2+/1+/0 States of the Nitrogenase Fe‐Protein journal March 2019
Computational Investigations of the Chemical Mechanism of the Enzyme Nitrogenase journal January 2020
Comparison of hydroxycarboxylato imidazole molybdenum( iv ) complexes and nitrogenase protein structures: indirect evidence for the protonation of homocitrato FeMo-cofactors journal January 2018
How feasible is the reversible S-dissociation mechanism for the activation of FeMo-co, the catalytic site of nitrogenase? journal January 2019
Spectroscopic Characterization of an Eight-Iron Nitrogenase Cofactor Precursor that Lacks the “9 th Sulfur” journal September 2019
X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy Applied to Nitrogenase and Related Models: Experimental Evidence for a Spin-Coupled Molybdenum(III) Center journal June 2019
Waltzing around cofactors journal February 2016
Spectroscopic Characterization of an Eight‐Iron Nitrogenase Cofactor Precursor that Lacks the “9 th Sulfur” journal September 2019
Strategies Towards Capturing Nitrogenase Substrates and Intermediates via Controlled Alteration of Electron Fluxes journal December 2018
Evaluation of the Catalytic Relevance of the CO-Bound States of V-Nitrogenase journal March 2018
Site‐Specific Oxidation State Assignments of the Iron Atoms in the [4Fe:4S] 2+/1+/0 States of the Nitrogenase Fe‐Protein journal February 2019

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