Seven diazotrophs that grow well under Mo-deficient, N(2)-fixing conditions were isolated from a variety of environments. These isolates fall in the gamma subdivision of the class Proteobacteria and have genes that encode the Mo nitrogenase (nitrogenase 1) and the V nitrogenase (nitrogenase 2). Four of the isolates also harbor genes that encode the iron-only nitrogenase (nitrogenase 3).

INTRODUCTION .......................................... 235 PROPERTIES OF THE NITROGENASE PROTEINS ................... 237 Fe-Protein ............................................ 238 MoFe-Protein .......................................... 241 Species-Specific Variations in Nitrogenase Proteins ................... 245 GENETICS AND ASSEMBLY OF TIIE NITROGENASE PROTEINS ........ 246 MECHANISM OF N...

In microbes that fix nitrogen, nitrogenase catalyzes the conversion of N2 to ammonia in an ATP-demanding reaction. To help conserve energy some bacteria inhibit nitrogenase activity upon exposure to ammonium. The purple nonsulfur phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain CGA009 can synthesize three functional nitrogenase isoenzymes: a molybdenum nitrogenase, a vanadium nitrogenas...

A second nitrogenase activity has been demonstrated in Rhodospirillum rubrum. This nitrogenase is expressed whenever a strain lacks an active Mo nitrogenase because of physiological or genetic inactivation. The alternative nitrogenase is able to support growth on N2 in the absence of fixed N. V does not stimulate, nor does Mo or W inhibit, growth or activity under the conditions tested. The pro...

Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413 has two distinct nitrogenases that function in heterocysts, a conventional Mo-nitrogenase and an alternative V-nitrogenase. Synthesis of these two enzymes was repressed in cells growing with a source of fixed nitrogen, such as ammonium; however, the V-nitrogenase was also repressed by Mo. Expression of the V-nitrogenase which was not affected by V and expression o...

HD formation from either Da and Hz0 or Hz and DzO is shown to be catalyzed by Nz-fixing extracts of Azotobacter vinelandii. The activity parallels nitrogenase but not hydrogenase activity and is not catalyzed by the sites of nitrogenase responsible for either ATP-dependent Hz evolution or competitive inhibition by Hz of Nz fixation. Requirements in addition to nitrogenase are NB, ATP, and reduc...

Nitrogen-starved Plectonema boryanum 594 cultures flushed with N(2)/CO(2) or A/CO(2) (99.7%/0.3%, vol/vol) exhibited nitrogenase activity when assayed either by acetylene reduction or hydrogen evolution. Oxygen evolution activities and phycocyanin pigments decreased sharply before and during the development of nitrogenase activity, but recovered in the N(2)/CO(2) cultures after a period of acti...

In Azotobacter vinelandii cells, the short-term inhibition of nitrogenase activity by NH4Cl was found to depend on several factors. The first factor is the dissolved oxygen concentration during the assay of nitrogenase. When cells are incubated with low concentrations of oxygen, nitrogenase activity is low and ammonia inhibits strongly. With more oxygen, nitrogenase activity increases. Cells in...

.....................................................................................................53 Introduction ................................................................................................54 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................58 Results ........................................................................

The photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris is one of just a few prokaryotes described so far that has vnf and anf genes for alternative vanadium cofactor (V) and iron cofactor (Fe) nitrogenases in addition to nif genes for a molybdenum cofactor (Mo) nitrogenase. Transcriptome data indicated that the 32 genes in the nif gene cluster, but not the anf or vnf genes, were induced in wil...