title: Nitrogenase and homologs.
abstract: Nitrogenase catalyzes biological nitrogen fixation, a key step in the global nitrogen cycle. Three homologous nitrogenases have been identified to date, along with several structural and/or functional homologs of this enzyme that are involved in nitrogenase assembly, bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis and methanogenic process, respectively. In this article, we provide an overview of the structures and functions of nitrogenase and its homologs, which highlights the similarity and disparity of this uniquely versatile group of enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, 2230 McGaugh Hall, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697-3900, USA, yilinh@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Yilin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Markus W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ribbe
mesh_terms: D016948:Azotobacter vinelandii / Q000201:enzymology; D001429:Bacteriochlorophylls / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D008982:Molybdenum / Q000737:chemistry*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D009591:Nitrogenase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D001429:Bacteriochlorophylls; D008982:Molybdenum; D009591:Nitrogenase; D009584:Nitrogen