Refining the pathway of carbide insertion into the nitrogenase M-cluster.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26259825.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms9034 and PMC identifier 4535184.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Carbide insertion plays a pivotal role in the biosynthesis of M-cluster, the cofactor of nitrogenase. Previously, we proposed a carbide insertion pathway involving methyltransfer from SAM to a FeS precursor and hydrogen abstraction from this methyl group that initiates the radical-based precursor maturation. Here we demonstrate that the methyl group is transferred to a precursor-associated sulfur before hydrogen abstraction, thereby refining the initial steps of the carbide insertion pathway.
Medical subject headings
- Coenzymes
- Nitrogenase