title: Assembly of nitrogenase MoFe protein.
abstract: Assembly of nitrogenase MoFe protein is arguably one of the most complex processes in the field of bioinorganic chemistry, requiring, at least, the participation of nifS, nifU, nifB, nifE, nifN, nifV, nifQ, nifZ, nifH, nifD, and nifK gene products. Previous genetic studies have identified factors involved in MoFe protein assembly; however, the exact functions of these factors and the precise sequence of events during the process have remained unclear until the recent characterization of a number of assembly-related intermediates that provided significant insights into this biosynthetic "black box". This review summarizes the recent advances in elucidation of the mechanism of FeMoco biosynthesis in four aspects: (1) the ex situ assembly of FeMoco on NifEN, (2) the incorporation of FeMoco into MoFe protein, (3) the in situ assembly of P-cluster on MoFe protein, and (4) the stepwise assembly of MoFe protein.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-3900, USA. yilinh@uci.edu
authors.forename: Yilin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Aaron W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Fay
authors.forename: Chi Chung
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoshizawa
authors.forename: Markus W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ribbe
mesh_terms: D008958:Models, Molecular; D008983:Molybdoferredoxin / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D008983:Molybdoferredoxin