Applied Biological Chemistry

The Korean Society for Applied Biological Chemistry (한국응용생명화학회)
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Mechanism of Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Azotobacter vinelandii

Azotobacter vinelandii에서의 생물학적 질소고정 작용 메카니즘

  • Kim, Yong-Ung (Metalloenzyme Research Group, BET Research Institute and Department of Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University) ;
  • Han, Jae-Hong (Metalloenzyme Research Group, BET Research Institute and Department of Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University)
  • 김용웅 (중앙대학교 생명공학과, 금속효소 연구그룹, 생명환경 연구원) ;
  • 한재홍 (중앙대학교 생명공학과, 금속효소 연구그룹, 생명환경 연구원)
  • Published : 2005.09.30
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Abstract

Biological nitrogen fixation is an important process for academic and industrial aspects. This review will briefly compare industrial and biological nitrogen fixation and cover the characteristics of biological nitrogen fixation studied in Azotobacter vinelandii. Various organisms can carry out biological nitrogen fixation and recently the researches on the reaction mechanism were concentrated on the free-living microorganism, A. vinelandii. Nitrogen fixation, which transforms atmospheric $N_2$ into ammonia, is chemically a reduction reaction requiring electron donation. Nitrogenase, the biological nitrgen fixer, accepts electrons from biological electron donors, and transfers them to the active site, FeMo-cofactor, through $Fe_4S_4$ cluster in Fe protein and P-cluster in MoFe protein. The electron transport and the proton transport are very important processes in the nitrogenase catalysis to understand its reaction mechanism, and the interactions between FeMo-cofactor and nitrogen molecule are at the center of biological nitrogen fixation mechanism. Spectroscopic studies including protein X-ray crystallography, EPR and $M{\ddot{o}}ssbauer$, biochemical approaches including substrate and inhibitor interactions as well as site-directed mutation study, and chemical approach to synthesize the FeMo-cofactor model compounds were used for biological nitrogen fixation study. Recent research results from these area were presented, and finally, a new nitrogenase reaction mechanism will be proposed based on the various research results.

생물학적 질소고정과정의 연구는 학문적으로나 산업적으로 매우 중요한 과정이다. 본 총설에서는 공업적 질소고정과 비교되는 생물학적 질소고정의 특징을 간단히 살펴보고, Azotobacter vinelandii에서 연구되고 있는 생물학적 질소고정효소의 특징을 다룬다. 생물학적 질소고정과정은 다양한 생명체에서 일어나며, 최근에는 미생물인 A. vinelandii에 그 작용 메커니즘에 관한 연구가 집중되어 있다. 공기중의 질소를 암모니아로 변환시키는 질소고정은 화학적으로 환원 반응에 해당하므로 전자의 공급이 필요하다. 생물학적 질소고정을 담당하는 질소고정효소는 촉매반응을 위해 생물학적인 환원력을 사용하여 전자를 공급받아, Fe 단백질의 $Fe_4S_4$ cluster와 MoFe 단백질의 P-cluster를 거쳐 질소 환원 반응이 일어나는 FeMo-cofactor로 전달한다. 이러한 전자전달의 과정과 수소이온의 전달 과정은 질소고정효소의 반응 메커니즘 이해에 매우 중요한 과정이며, FeMo-cofactor와 질소분자의 상호작용은 생물학적 질소고정 메커니즘의 중심에 있다. 질소고정 작용 메커니즘의 연구에는 X-선 단백질 결정학, EPR과 $M{\ddot{u}}ssbauer$ 등의 다양한 분광학적 방법과, 효소의 기질과 저해제의 상호작용을 연구하고 mutant와 비교하는 생화학적 접근방법, 그리고 FeMo-cofactor의 모델 화합물을 합성하여 연구하는 화학적 방법 등이 적용되었다. 이들 분야의 최근 연구결과를 소개하며, 마지막으로, 다양한 연구 결과에 바탕하여 새로운 질소고정효소의 작용 기작이 제안하였다.

Keywords

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  115. The distances are very short, considering hydrogen atoms are bonded to the amino acid residues
  116. It is reported recently that the atom inside FeMo-cofactor may not be nitrogen atom. Yang, T.-C., Maeser, N. K., Laryukhin, M., Lee, H.-I., Dean, D. R., Seefeldt, L. C. and Hoffman, B. M. (2005) The interstitial atom of the nitrogenase FeMocofactor: ENDOR and ESEEM evidence that it is not a nitrogen. J. Am. Chem. Soc. ASAP ja0552489