固氮酶的研究进展

固氮酶将N2还原为NH3的过程是自然界实现氮循环的重要环节。固氮酶是由γ2型二聚体组成的Fe蛋白和α2β2异四聚体组成的MoFe蛋白组成。固氮酶催化的机制包括铁蛋白的氧还循环和钼铁蛋白的氧还循环两部分。Klebsiella pneumoniae的nif基因簇由20个基因组成,构成了8个转录单位,总长度24206bp,其操控机制是多水平、多层次的调控过程。同时综述了固氮酶的多样性,目前已经发现的有钼铁固氮酶、钒铁固氮酶、铁铁固氮酶以及在Strpomyces thermoauophicus内存在的与已知的三种固氮酶体系明显不同的固氮体系。     

棕色固氮菌钼铁蛋白结晶及一些物理化学性质

获得了棕色固氮菌固氮酶钼铁蛋白的针状结晶,大小为2-2.5×25-65微米,成晶所要求的条件不是很严格的。SDS 电泳和氨基酸分析结果表明,钼铁蛋白分子量为250,000。只观察到一种类型亚单位。其中酸性氨基酸占优势。分子氧使针状晶体演变为发状晶丝,晶丝又密集成束。晶束可保存较长时间。氧使钼铁蛋白在电泳时形成高聚合态。       

有催化活性的固氮酶二聚态钼铁蛋白

利用离子交换层析和凝胶过滤,第一次成功地从棕色固氮菌提取液中分离出接近电泳纯的能重组固氮酶活性的二聚态钼铁蛋白。它的分子量约为150,000,每分子含钼约0.5原子。当与铁蛋白重组固氮酶时,表现出相当高的活性。这个结果对固氮酶底物络合中心的结构提供了重要的启示,指出与目前较为流行的双钼多核中心相比,含单钼的多核中心至少同样是不可忽视的可能结构。     

光在钼影响蓝藻固氮中的作用

我们过去的工作曾指出,蓝藻及其离体异形胞的固氮是一个依赖于光的过程,光对蓝藻固氮酶的合成和活性有调节作用。此外,多年的生化研究也已确定,钼是包括蓝藻在内的一切固氮生物生长和参与固氮酶催化活性中心结构的必需与关键性的金属元素,它对钼铁蛋白有调控功能。这样,     

棕色固氮菌突变种UW3部分提纯的固氮酶CrFe蛋白溶液中残存细菌铁蛋白的晶体生长及鉴定

从无钼、无氨而含铬的固氮培养基中生长的棕色固氮菌(Azotobacter vinelandii Lipmann)突变种UW3中纯化得到了部分纯的CrFe蛋白.在试图培养CrFe蛋白大晶体时发现,棕色晶体和砖红色晶体可同时或单独出现.SDS-PAGE和厌氧天然PAGE皆表明,棕色晶体主要由与固氮酶钼铁蛋白(Av1)类似大小的亚基(～60 kD)组成,而砖红色晶体则由～20kD亚基组成.免疫分析表明只有～60kD的亚基可与固氮酶钼铁蛋白的抗体反应,而～20kD亚基则无这种反应.在部分纯的CrFe蛋白溶液中,～20 kD的总蛋白含量远低于～60 kD蛋白的含量,表明由这种小亚基组成的蛋白只是CrFe蛋白溶液中的一种污染蛋白.用3,5-二氨基苯甲酸染色的天然电泳表明,形成砖红色和棕色晶体的蛋白是迁移率不同的两种含铁蛋白.质谱分析表明砖红色晶体蛋白为棕色固氮菌的细菌铁蛋白.分辨率为2.34 A的X射线衍射结果也表明,砖红色晶体属于H3空间群,晶胞参数为a=124.965A,b=124.965A和c=287.406 A.即将发表的三维结构解析表明,此砖红色晶体确为24聚体的细菌铁蛋白.     

棕色固氮菌固氮酶铁蛋白的研究(四)

应用荧光探剂——荧光醋酸汞和荧光胺研究了棕色固氮菌固氮酶的两种蛋白组分与MgATP和MgADP的关系。实验确证该菌钼铁蛋白不能与MgATP和MgADP络合,而铁蛋白则能。每分子铁蛋白络合2个分子MgATP,但至少是络合2个分子MgADP,反应的部位是在铁蛋白的巯基上。MgATP和MgADP与铁蛋白络合后,引起铁蛋白构型变化,使铁蛋白中可与荧光胺反应的氨基量增加。MgATP和MgADP二者与铁蛋白作用后所得结果相近似。在没有MgATP存在条件下,钼铁蛋白仍能与铁蛋白相互作用,并在巯基部位上产生变化。对于氨基也有影响。     

棕色固氮菌突变种UW3部分提纯的固氮酶CrFe蛋白溶液中残存细菌铁蛋白的晶体生长及鉴定

从无钼、无氨而含铬的固氮培养基中生长的棕色固氮菌(Azotobacter vinelandii Lipmann)突变种UW3中纯化得到了部分纯的CrFe蛋白。在试图培养CrFe蛋白大晶体时发现,棕色晶体和砖红色晶体可同时或单独出现。SDS-PAGE和厌氧天然PAGE皆表明,棕色晶体主要由与固氮酶钼铁蛋白(Av1)类似大小的亚基(～60kD)组成,而砖红色晶体则由～20kD亚基组成。免疫分析表明只有～60kD的亚基可与固氮酶钼铁蛋白的抗体反应,而～20kD亚基则无这种反应。在部分纯的CrFe蛋白溶液中,～20 kD的总蛋白含量远低于～60 kD蛋白的含量,表明由这种小亚基组成的蛋白只是CrFe蛋白溶液中的一种污染蛋白。用3,5-二氨基苯甲酸染色的天然电泳表明,形成砖红色和棕色晶体的蛋白是迁移率不同的两种含铁蛋白。质谱分析表明砖红色晶体蛋白为棕色固氮菌的细菌铁蛋白。分辨率为2.34的X射线衍射结果也表明,砖红色晶体属于H3空间群,晶胞参数为a=124.965,b=124.965和c=287.406。即将发表的三维结构解析表明,此砖红色晶体确为24聚体的细菌铁蛋白。     

固氮酶

指固氮生物中对固定空气中分子氮并将其转变成氨起特殊催化功能的酶蛋白质。已从16种不同类型固氮生物中分离到固氮酶,它可分为两种独立的酶蛋白:(1)含钼和铁,称钼铁蛋白;(2)含铁,称铁蛋白。一般认为前者是络合和还原氮的中心,后者是电子活化中心。两者单独存在时不能固氮,只有合起来才能重组固氮活性。固氮酶(尤其是铁蛋白)对氧和摄氏零度左右的低温很敏感,易于失活。由于两种蛋白重组固氮活性时的确切比例尚不清楚,加上它们的均一制剂又未得到,所以对整个固氮酶的分子量还无法判断。目     

植物的共生固氮体系

氮是植物生命活动中不可缺少的重要元素之一。大气中的氮尽管为79％,但这种游离氮只有少数固氮细菌和蓝藻才能吸收利用,绿色植物却不能直接利用。这些细菌、蓝藻把大气中的游离氮固定转化为含氮化合物,成为植物所能吸收的氮,就称为生物固氮作用。固氮生物之所以能催化还原N2成NH3,是由于它含有固氮酶。固氮酶是一种结构复杂、功能特异的酶,由铁蛋白和钼铁蛋白组成。     

固氮蓝藻与棕色固氮菌固氮酶组分的交叉互补功能

本文报告了藻菌之间固氮酶组分的交叉互补试验。初步结果证明:固氮蓝藻(Anabacnaazotica水生686)的钼铁蛋白与棕色固氮菌(Azotobacter vinelandii)的铁蛋白之间存在着明显的互补功能。但这种蓝藻的铁蛋白在非细胞形态下很不稳定,易于失活。本实验为不同生理类型和不同进化程度的固氮生物之间固氮酶组分的交叉互补研究提供了新的资料。       

In vivo interaction between nitrogenase molybdenum-iron protein and membrane in Azotobacter vinelandii and Rhodospirillum rubrum

Oriented whole cell multilayers of Azotobacter vinelandii and Rhodospirillum rubrum were analyzed by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy to detect possible structural associations between nitrogenase molybdenum-iron (MoFe) protein and cytoplasmic or intracytoplasmic membrane. Initially, protocols were designed to obtain strong molybdenum-iron protein ESR signals in whole cell samples of each organism. Then, two-dimensional orientation of whole cell membranes was demonstrated in whole cell multilayers using doxyl stearate spin label in A. vinelandii and the bacteriochlorophyll a dimer triplet signal, (BCHl a)T2, from the intracytoplasmic membrane-bound photosynthetic apparatus of R. rubrum. Subsequent analysis of the low-field signals, g = 4.3 and g = 3.6, of molybdenum-iron protein in whole cell multilayers of each organism showed orientation-dependent characteristics, although the properties of each were different. Specifically, as the normal to the membrane plane was rotated from perpendicular to parallel with the ESR magnetic field, the amplitude of the g = 3.6 signal decreased from maximum to about 37% of maximum in A. vinelandii and from maximum to about 88% of maximum in R. rubrum. The angular dependence of the g = 4.3 peak during rotation varied in A. vinelandii, but decreased from maximum to about 63% of maximum in R. rubrum. These data suggest that the molybdenum-iron protein of nitrogenase was oriented in response to the physical orientation of cellular membranes and that a structural association may exist between this nitrogenase component and membrane in these organisms.     

Molybdenum accumulation and storage in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Azotobacter vinelandii.

In Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mo accumulation appeared to be coregulated with nitrogenase synthesis. O2 and NH+4, which repressed nitrogenase synthesis, also prevented Mo accumulation. In Azotobacter vinelandii, Mo accumulation did not appear to be regulated Mo was accumulated to levels much higher than those seen in K. pneumoniae even when nitrogenase synthesis was repressed. Accumulated Mo was bound mainly to a Mo storage protein, and it could act as a supply for the Mo needed in component I synthesis when extracellular Mo had been exhausted. When A. vinelandii was grown in the presence of WO2-(4) rather than MoO2-(4), it synthesized a W-containing analog of the Mo storage protein. The Mo storage protein was purified from both NH+4 and N2-grown cells of A. vinelandii and found to be a tetramer of two pairs of different subunits binding a minimum of 15 atoms of Mo per tetramer.     

Isolation, sequencing, and mutagenesis of the nifF gene encoding flavodoxin from Azotobacter vinelandii

The nifF gene encoding flavodoxin from Azotobacter vinelandii OP was cloned and its DNA sequence determined. It is located adjacent to, or possibly within, the major nif cluster and it is preceded by nif-specific regulatory elements. Southern hybridization analysis revealed that there is only a single copy of the nifF gene on the A. vinelandii OP genome. Mutant strains were constructed which have an insertion mutation or an insertion and a deletion mutation within the nifF gene coding sequence. These mutant strains are capable of diazotrophic growth, indicating that flavodoxin is not the unique physiological electron donor to nitrogenase. The results of nifF-lacZYA gene fusion experiments and Northern hybridization analyses indicated that the nifF gene is both transcribed and translated under nitrogen fixing and non-nitrogen fixing conditions. However, under nitrogen fixing conditions a substantial increase in both nifF synthesis and in accumulation of an approximately 800-base pair nifF-encoding mRNA species was observed. Furthermore, strains mutated within the nifF gene have only 70% of the wild type in vivo nitrogenase activity as determined by whole cell acetylene reduction assays. These data demonstrate that the nifF-encoded flavodoxin of A. vinelandii OP, although not essential for nitrogen fixation, is required for maximum in vivo nitrogenase activity.     

Molecular insights into nitrogenase FeMoco insertion--the role of His 274 and His 451 of MoFe protein alpha subunit

The final step of FeMo cofactor (FeMoco) assembly involves the insertion of FeMoco into its binding site in the molybdenum-iron (MoFe) protein of nitrogenase. Here we examine the role of His alpha274 and His alpha451 of Azotobacter vinelandii MoFe protein in this process. Our results from combined metal, activity, EPR, stability and insertion analyses show that mutations of His alpha274 and/or His alpha451, two of the histidines that belong to a so-called His triad, to small uncharged Ala specifically reduce the accumulation of FeMoco in MoFe protein. This observation indicates that the enrichment of histidines at the His triad is important for FeMoco insertion and that the His triad potentially serves as an intermediate docking point for FeMoco through transitory ligand coordination and/or electrostatic interaction.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of the Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase structural gene cluster

DNA fragments coding for the structural genes for Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase have been isolated and sequenced. These genes, nifH, nifD and nifK, code for the iron (Fe) protein and the alpha and beta subunits of the molybdenum-iron (MoFe) protein, respectively. They are arranged in the order: promoter:nifH:nifD:nifK. There are 129 nucleotides separating nifH and nifD and 101 nucleotides separating nifD and nifK. The amino acid (aa) sequences deduced from the nucleotide sequences are discussed in relation to the prosthetic group-binding regions of the nifHDK-encoded polypeptides.     

Activation of vanadium nitrogenase expression in Azotobacter vinelandii DJ54 revertant in the presence of molybdenum

Azotobacter vinelandii carries three different and genetically distinct nitrogenase systems on its chromosome. Expression of all three nitrogenases is repressed by high concentrations of fixed nitrogen. Expression of individual nitrogenase systems is under the control of specific metal availability. We have isolated a novel type of A. vinelandii DJ54 revertant, designated A. vinelandii BG54, which carries a defined deletion in the nifH gene and is capable of diazotrophic growth in the presence of molybdenum. Inactivation of nifDK has no effect on growth of this mutant strain in nitrogen-free medium suggesting that products of the nif system are not involved in supporting diazotrophic growth of A. vinelandii BG54. Similar to the wild type, A. vinelandii BG54 is also sensitive to 1 mM tungsten. Tn5-B21 mutagenesis to inactivate the genes specific to individual systems revealed that the structural genes for vnf nitrogenase are required for diazotrophic growth of A. vinelandii BG54. Analysis of promoter activity of different nif systems revealed that the vnf promoter is activated in A. vinelandii BG54 in the presence of molybdenum. Based on these data we conclude that A. vinelandii BG54 strain utilizes vnf nitrogenase proteins to support its diazotrophic growth.     

Characterization of an oxygen-stable nitrogenase complex isolated from Azotobacter chroococcum.

In crude cell-free extracts of Azotobacter chroococcum, nitrogenase was much less sensitive to irreversible inactivation by O2 than was the purified enzyme. When nitrogenase was partially purified by anaerobic discontinuous sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation, O2-tolerance was retained. This preparation was considerably enriched in four polypeptides, three of which were derived from the Mo-Fe(molybdenum-iron) protein and Fe (iron) protein of nitrogenase. The fourth was purified to homogeneity and shown to be an iron-sulphur protein (mol.wt. 14000) probably containing a 2Fe--2S centre. When this protein was added to purified nitrogenase, the enzyme was rendered O2-tolerant, through stabilization was Mg2+-dependent. The isolated O2-tolerant nitrogenase was an equimolar stoicheiometric complex between the MO--Fe, Fe and protective proteins. It is likely that the formation of this complex in vivo is the mechanism of 'conformational protection' in this organism.     

Docking of nitrogenase iron- and molybdenum-iron proteins for electron transfer and MgATP hydrolysis: the role of arginine 140 and lysine 143 of the Azotobacter vinelandii iron protein.

Docking of the nitrogenase component proteins, the iron protein (FeP) and the molybdenum-iron protein (MoFeP), is required for MgATP hydrolysis, electron transfer between the component proteins, and substrate reductions catalyzed by nitrogenase. The present work examines the function of 3 charged amino acids, Arg 140, Glu 141, and Lys 143, of the Azotobacter vinelandii FeP in nitrogenase component protein docking. The function of these amino acids was probed by changing each to the neutral amino acid glutamine using site-directed mutagenesis. The altered FePs were expressed in A. vinelandii in place of the wild-type FeP. Changing Glu 141 to Gln (E141Q) had no adverse effects on the function of nitrogenase in whole cells, indicating that this charged residue is not essential to nitrogenase function. In contrast, changing Arg 140 or Lys 143 to Gln (R140Q and K143Q) resulted in a significant decrease in nitrogenase activity, suggesting that these charged amino acid residues play an important role in some function of the FeP. The function of each amino acid was deduced by analysis of the properties of the purified R140Q and K143Q FePs. Both altered proteins were found to support reduced substrate reduction rates when coupled to wild-type MoFeP. Detailed analysis revealed that changing these residues to Gln resulted in a dramatic reduction in the affinity of the altered FeP for binding to the MoFeP. This was deduced in FeP titration, NaCl inhibition, and MoFeP protection from Fe2+ chelation experiments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The catalytic activity of nitrogenase in intact Azotobacter vinelandii cells

The influence of the growth conditions on the concentration of nitrogenase and on the nitrogenase activity, was studied in intact Azotobacter vinelandii cells. It was observed that whole cell nitrogenase activity could be enhanced in two ways. An increase of the growth rate of cells was accompanied by an increase in whole cell nitrogenase activity and by an increase in the concentration of nitrogenase in the cells. The molar ratio of Fe protein:MoFe protein was 1.47 +/- 0.17 and independent of the growth rate. Activity measurements in cell extracts showed that the catalytic activity of the nitrogenase proteins was independent of the growth rate of cells. The second way to increase whole cell nitrogenase activity was to expose cells to excess oxygen. Whole cells were exposed for 2.5 h to an enhanced oxygen-input rate. After this incubation nitrogenase activity was increased without an increase in protein concentration. It is calculated that the catalytic activity of the Fe protein in these cells was 6200 nmol C2H4 formed X min-1 X (mg Fe protein)-1. With these cells and with cells grown at a high growth rate, 50% of the whole cell activity is lost by preparing a cell-free extract. It will be demonstrated that this inactivation is partly caused by the activity measurements in vitro. When dithionite was replaced by flavodoxin as electron donor, a maximal catalytic activity of 4500 nmol C2H4 formed X min-1 X (mg Fe protein)-1 was measured in vitro for the Fe protein. The results are discussed in relation to the present model for nitrogenase catalysis.