title: Nitrogenase assembly.
abstract: Nitrogenase contains two unique metalloclusters: the P-cluster and the M-cluster. The assembly processes of P- and M-clusters are arguably the most complicated processes in bioinorganic chemistry. There is considerable interest in decoding the biosynthetic mechanisms of the P- and M-clusters, because these clusters are not only biologically important, but also chemically unprecedented. Understanding the assembly mechanisms of these unique metalloclusters is crucial for understanding the structure-function relationship of nitrogenase. Here, we review the recent advances in this research area, with an emphasis on our work that provide important insights into the biosynthetic pathways of these high-nuclearity metal centers. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Metals in Bioenergetics and Biomimetics Systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92687-3900, USA. yilinh@uci.ed
authors.forename: Yilin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Markus W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ribbe
mesh_terms: D008958:Models, Molecular; D009591:Nitrogenase / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D009591:Nitrogenase