Probing the coordination and function of Fe4S4 modules in nitrogenase assembly protein NifB

Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 19;9(1):2824. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05272-8.

Abstract

NifB is an essential radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzyme for nitrogenase cofactor assembly. Previous studies show that NifB couples a putative pair of [Fe4S4] modules (designated K1 and K2) into an [Fe8S9C] cofactor precursor concomitant with radical SAM-dependent carbide insertion through the action of its SAM-binding [Fe4S4] module. However, the coordination and function of the NifB cluster modules remain unknown. Here, we use continuous wave and pulse electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to show that K1- and K2-modules are 3-cysteine-coordinated [Fe4S4] clusters, with a histidine-derived nitrogen serving as the fourth ligand to K1 that is lost upon K1/K2-coupling. Further, we demonstrate that coexistence of SAM/K2-modules is a prerequisite for methyltransfer to K2 and hydrogen abstraction from the K2-associated methyl by a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical. These results establish an important framework for mechanistic explorations of NifB while highlighting the utility of a synthetic-cluster-based reconstitution approach employed herein in functional analyses of iron-sulfur (FeS) enzymes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Archaeal Proteins / chemistry*
  • Archaeal Proteins / genetics
  • Archaeal Proteins / metabolism
  • Binding Sites
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Gene Expression
  • Genetic Vectors / chemistry
  • Genetic Vectors / metabolism
  • Iron / chemistry*
  • Iron / metabolism
  • Iron Compounds / chemistry*
  • Iron Compounds / metabolism
  • Methanosarcina / chemistry*
  • Methanosarcina / metabolism
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nitrogenase / chemistry
  • Nitrogenase / genetics
  • Nitrogenase / metabolism
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • S-Adenosylmethionine / chemistry*
  • S-Adenosylmethionine / metabolism
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Substrate Specificity
  • Sulfur / chemistry*
  • Sulfur / metabolism

Substances

  • Archaeal Proteins
  • Iron Compounds
  • NifB cofactor
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Sulfur
  • S-Adenosylmethionine
  • Iron
  • Nitrogenase