The role of metal clusters and MgATP in nitrogenase catalysis

Characterization of a modified nitrogenase Fe protein from Klebsiella pneumoniae in which the 4Fe4S cluster has been replaced by a 4Fe4Se cluster

The Azotobacter vinelandii nifS gene product has been used with selenocysteine to reconstitute Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase Fe protein. Chemical analysis and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy show that the 4Fe4S cluster present in the native protein is replaced by a 4Fe4Se cluster. As well, EXAFS spectroscopy shows that the bond lengths to the cysteine thiolate ligands shrink by 0.05 A (from 2.28 to 2.23 A) upon reduction, whereas the Fe-Fe distance is essentially unchanged. Thus, the core of the 4Fe4Se cluster remains essentially static on reduction, whilst the external cysteine thiolate ligands are pulled in towards the cluster. Compared with native (S)-Fe protein, the (Se)-Fe protein has a 20-fold increased rate of MgATP-induced Fe chelation, a sixfold decreased specific activity for acetylene reduction, a fivefold decreased rate of MgATP-dependent electron transfer from (Se)-Fe protein to MoFe protein, and a fourfold increase in the ATP to 2e (-) ratio. The high ATP to 2e (-) ratio and decreased specific activity are consistent with a lower rate of dissociation of oxidized (Se)-Fe protein from reduced MoFe protein. Thus, the relatively small adjustments in the Fe protein structure necessary to accommodate the 4Fe4Se cluster are transmitted both to adjacent residues that dock at the surface of the MoFe protein and to the ATP hydrolysis sites located approximately 19 A away.

Structural basis for VO2+ inhibition of nitrogenase activity (A): 31P and 23Na interactions with the metal at the nucleotide binding site of the nitrogenase Fe protein identified by ENDOR spectroscopy

We previously reported the vanadyl hyperfine couplings of VO(2+)-ATP and VO(2+)-ADP complexes in the presence of the nitrogenase Fe protein from Klebsiella pneumoniae (Petersen et al. in Biochemistry 41:13253-13263, 2002). It was demonstrated that different VO(2+)-nucleotide coordination environments coexist and are distinguishable by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Here orientation-selective continuous-wave electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectra have been investigated especially in the low-radio-frequency range in order to identify superhyperfine interactions with nuclei other than protons. Some of these resonances have been attributed to the presence of a strong interaction with a 31P nucleus although no resolvable superhyperfine structure due to 31P or other nuclei was detected in the EPR spectra. The superhyperfine coupling component is determined to be about 25 MHz. Such a 31P coupling is consistent with an interaction of the metal with phosphorus from a directly, equatorially coordinated nucleotide phosphate group(s). Additionally, novel more prominent 31P ENDOR signals are detected in the low-frequency region. Some of these correspond to a relatively weak 31P coupling. This coupling is present with ATP for all pH forms but is absent with ADP. The ENDOR resonances of these weakly coupled 31P are likely to originate from an interaction of the metal with a nucleotide phosphate group of the nucleoside triphosphate and are attributed to a phosphorus with axial characteristics. Another set of resonances, split about the nuclear Zeeman frequency of 23Na, was detected, suggesting that a monovalent Na+ ion is closely associated with the divalent metal-nucleotide binding site. Na+ replacement by K+ unambiguously confirmed that ENDORs at radio frequencies between 3.0 and 4.5 MHz arise from an interaction with Na+ ions. In contrast to the low-frequency 31P signal, these resonances are present in spectra with both ADP and ATP, and for both low- and neutral-pH forms, although slight differences are detected, showing that these are sensitive to the nucleotide and pH.

Mn2+-adenosine nucleotide complexes in the presence of the nitrogenase iron-protein: detection of conformational rearrangements directly at the nucleotide binding site by EPR and 2D-ESEEM (two-dimensional electron spin-echo envelope modulation spectroscopy)

Both ATP and a bivalent nucleotide-bound metal activator, normally Mg2+, are required for nitrogenase activity. EPR and ESEEM (electron spin-echo envelope modulation) measurements have been carried out on adenosine nucleotides in which the Mg2+ ion that is usually bound is replaced by Mn2+ in the presence of Kp2 (nitrogenase Fe-protein from Klebsiella pneumoniae). The Mn2+ zero-field splitting parameters have been determined from the EPR-spectrum to be |D|=0.0125 cm(-1) with a rhombicity lambda=E/D=0.31 by direct diagonalization of the complete spin Hamiltonian. ESEEM spectra of the Fe-protein with MnADP and MnATP both show an ESEEM line pair with one signal component at about 3.6 MHz and a relatively broad resonance at 8 MHz originating from a superhyperfine coupling to a 31P nuclear spin from one or more directly co-ordinated phospho group(s) of the nucleotide. A pronounced resonance overlapping the low-frequency component of the (31)P-signal at about 3.5 MHz is attributed to an interaction of Mn2+ with univalent 23Na nuclei. ESEEM lines at frequencies <3.5 MHz have been ascribed to interactions with 14N nuclei. Differences in the 14N features that depend on the type of nucleotide are consistent with substantial conformational rearrangements at the nucleotide-binding site upon hydrolysis. In addition, four-pulse HYSCORE (hyperfine sublevel correlation spectroscopy) experiments not only confirm the three-pulse ESEEM results, but also achieve significantly better spectral deconvolution, especially of the 31P-couplings, and demonstrate that the nucleotide is at least a unidentate ligand of Mn2+. Moreover it was also possible to identify peaks from an 14N interaction more clearly; these most probably arise from outer-sphere interactions with nitrogen atom(s) of non-co-ordinated residues which are affected by conformational rearrangements upon nucleotide hydrolysis. In addition, different redox states of the [4Fe-4S] cluster of the Fe-protein show disparate conformations of the metal-nucleotide co-ordination environment, demonstrating that also the cluster site communicates with the nucleotide binding site.

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)