nitrogenase and tungstate

The diazotroph Azotobacter vinelandii possesses three distinct nitrogenase isoenzymes, all of which produce molecular hydrogen as a by-product. In batch cultures, A. vinelandii strain CA6, a mutant of strain CA, displays multiple phenotypes distinct from its parent: tolerance to tungstate, impaired growth and molybdate transport, and increased hydrogen evolution. Determining and comparing the genomic sequences of strains CA and CA6 revealed a large deletion in CA6's genome, encompassing genes related to molybdate and iron transport and hydrogen reoxidation. A series of iron uptake analyses and chemostat culture experiments confirmed iron transport impairment and showed that the addition of fixed nitrogen (ammonia) resulted in cessation of hydrogen production. Additional chemostat experiments compared the hydrogen-producing parameters of different strains: in iron-sufficient, tungstate-free conditions, strain CA6's yields were identical to those of a strain lacking only a single hydrogenase gene. However, in the presence of tungstate, CA6 produced several times more hydrogen. A. vinelandii may hold promise for developing a novel strategy for production of hydrogen as an energy compound.

Topics: Aerobiosis; Azotobacter vinelandii; Genome, Bacterial; Hydrogen; Iron; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Nitrogenase; Tungsten Compounds

Molybdate- and ATP-dependent in vitro synthesis of the iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMo-co) of nitrogenase requires the protein products of at least the nifB, nifN, and nifE genes. Extracts of FeMo-co-negative mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Azotobacter vinelandii with lesions in different genes can be complemented for FeMo-co synthesis. Both K. pneumoniae and A. vinelandii dinitrogenase (component I) deficient in FeMo-co can be activated by FeMo-co synthesized in vitro. Properties of the partially purified dinitrogenase activated by FeMo-co synthesized in vitro were comparable to those of dinitrogenase from the wild-type organism; e.g., ratios of acetylene- to nitrogen-reduction activities, as well as those of acetylene reduction activities to EPR spectrum peak height at g = 3.65, were very similar. A. vinelandii mutants UW45 and CA30 have mutations in a gene functionally equivalent to nifB of K. pneumoniae.

Topics: Acetylene; Adenosine Triphosphate; Azotobacter; Bacterial Proteins; Cell-Free System; Chloramphenicol; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Enzyme Activation; Ferredoxins; Genes, Bacterial; Genetic Complementation Test; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Molybdenum; Molybdoferredoxin; Nitrogen Fixation; Nitrogenase; Operon; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Tungsten; Tungsten Compounds; Vanadates; Vanadium