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d) many cyanobacteria
f) some methanogens
Symbiotic bacteria are protected from oxygen by inhabiting a plant host. Bacteria
of the genus Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium inhabit the root nodules of
leguminous plants (e.g. peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, soybeans). Other symbiotic
associations occur but are less important. Anabaena azollae, a nitrogen fixing
cyanobacterium, lives in pores on the fronds of a water fern called Azolla. This
symbiotic partnership is used to enrich rice paddies with organic nitrogen.
Rhizobium is also found free in the soil but only fixes N2 when inside the root
nodules of its host plant, in a strictly controlled microaerophilic environment.
Oxygen is required to generate sufficient respiratory energy to drive N2 fixation.
But too much oxygen inactivates nitrogenase.
Specific strains of bacteria are found inhabiting specific plant species. For
example, a carbohydrate binding protein (lectin) on the surface of root cells of
clover (Trifolium) specifically binds to lipopolysaccharide of Rhizobium trifolii
which contains 2-deoxyglucose. The bacteria then enter and produce cytokinins
(a type of plant hormone) which promote the division of plant cells to form
nodules. The bacteria lose their outer membranes and become irregular in shape
- "bacteroids".
Structure and Operation of Nitrogenase
Nitrogenase is not very fast (the turnover number is around 50 moles/min per
mole of Mo) and so about 2-5% of the total cell protein is nitrogenase. The
reaction N2 + 3H2 ∅ 2NH3 actually releases energy. However, the activation
energy needed to break the NºN triple bond is very high and in practice energy,
as ATP, is consumed by NifH protein (azoferredoxin). If there is an excess of
azoferredoxin then ATP tends to be wasted. In Klebsiella nifHDK form an operon
that keeps the ratio of components constant.
The Nif (nitrogen fixation) proteins are often referred to by their gene names:
NifJ = pyruvate flavodoxin reductase
nifF = flavodoxin
nifH = azoferredoxin
nifK,D = molybdoferredoxin
nifA,L,R = regulation
Mechanism of Nitrogenase
Nitrogenase will reduce many small molecules with triple bonds in addition to
nitrogen. Oxygen, which is triple-bonded inactivates nitrogenase. Carbon
monoxide, another triply bonded molecule is a competitive inhibitor.
The overall Delta G for N2 + 3H2 = 2NH3 is about -8 kcal/mole. However the first
step, opening up the triple bond, is extremely unfavorable:
Thus nitrogenase has to carry out a single step which needs a reductant with a
redox potential of –1200 mV. Alterations in solvation, local pH etc. could bring
this down to about –1000 mV but even so this is much more negative than any
other biological redox potential.
The redox potential of azoferredoxin is –290mV. [When ATP binds to this protein
its redox potential is lowered to –400mV.] The ATP must be hydrolyzed for
reduced azoferredoxin to reduce molybdoferredoxin. Two ATP are hydrolyzed
per electron transferred or 4ATP/2e. 4ATP yields approximately –30 kcal which is
equivalent to 750 mV per pair of electrons. Adding this 750 mV to the Eo of
azoferredoxin (–290mV) just over 1000 mV negative - the correct value. This
suggests that ATP is used to generate reducing power. The mechanism is
unknown, but remember that cells convert reducing power to ATP during
respiration.
f) Conversion of N2H2 to 2NH3 requires two further 2e- steps, but partial
activation of the enzyme is sufficient (i.e. ATP is no longer needed to hype
up the redox potential) since only step (e) requires extreme reducing
power.
All the nif genes in Klebsiella are clustered and coordinately regulated. E. coli to
which the nif genes of Klebsiella have been transferred can fix N2. In both the
original Klebsiella and the E. coli nitrogenase is expressed only in the absence of
both O2 and NH3 in the growth medium. Other organic N-sources will also
repress nitrogenase. The better the N-source the greater the repression.
The nif genes are regulated by the nifLA operon. The nitrogen regulators NtrC (=
GlnG), and NtrB determine whether or not the nifLA operon is expressed
(depending on the presence of ammonia or organic nitrogen). In the absence of
ammonia or organic nitrogen the NtrC protein is phosphorylated by the NtrB
protein. NtrC-P then binds to the upstream region of the nifLA operon and
activates transcription.
NtrA (= GlnF = RpoN = σ 54) is the nitrogen sigma factor, which is needed for
expression of the nifLA operon and the nif structural genes. NtrA is an alternative
sigma factor used by RNA polymerase to recognize many genes involved in
nitrogen metabolism which are not recognized by the standard sigma factor. The
nifA gene encodes a protein required for switching on all of the nif genes except
the regulatory genes nifLA themselves. if NifA protein is made, its function is to
activate the other nif genes. The nifL gene is required for O2 repression. In the
absence of NifL protein, nitrogenase is made in the presence of O2 (but is
inactivated by O2). When oxygen is present, the NifL protein binds to NifA and
prevents it from activating the other nif genes.