Structural insights into the iron nitrogenase complex

Abstract Nitrogenases are best known for catalyzing the reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia at a complex metallic cofactor. Recently, nitrogenases were shown to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and carbon monoxide to hydrocarbons, offering a pathway to recycle carbon waste into hydrocarbon products. Among the three nitrogenase isozymes, the iron nitrogenase has the highest wild-type activity for the reduction of CO 2 , but the molecular architecture facilitating these activities has remained unknown. Here, we report a 2.35-Å cryogenic electron microscopy structure of the ADP·AlF 3 -stabilized iron nitrogenase complex from Rhodobacter capsulatus , revealing an [Fe 8 S 9 C - ( R )-homocitrate] cluster in the active site. The enzyme complex suggests that the iron nitrogenase G subunit is involved in cluster stabilization and substrate channeling and confers specificity between nitrogenase reductase and catalytic component proteins. Moreover, the structure highlights a different interface between the two catalytic halves of the iron and the molybdenum nitrogenase, potentially influencing the intrasubunit ‘communication’ and thus the nitrogenase mechanism.