Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2007 Nov;101(11-12):1657-66.
doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2007.07.014. Epub 2007 Jul 21.

Nickel and the carbon cycle

Affiliations
Review

Nickel and the carbon cycle

Stephen W Ragsdale. J Inorg Biochem. 2007 Nov.

Abstract

This article, dedicated to Edward Stiefel, reviews three nickel enzymes that play important roles in the carbon cycle: CO dehydrogenase, acetyl-CoA synthase, and methyl-coenzyme M reductase. After a short discussion of the carbon cycle, the structures of the active centers of the proteins and their proposed mechanisms are discussed. A brief description of future research areas is presented for each enzyme system. A short perspective on future research on nickel enzymes ends this contribution.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The carbon cycle.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Metalloclusters at the active site of CODH, ACS, and MCR. (A). NiFe4S4 C-Cluster in CODH, (B) Ni2Fe4S4 A-Cluster in ACS, (C). Ni-tetrahydrocorphin (F430) in MCR, from Figure 1 of [95].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Proposed mechanism of CODH.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Metalloclusters in CODH based on the 1OAO structure from [23].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Proposed ACS mechanisms. (A) the paramagnetic mechanism and (B) the diamagnetic mechanism. The redox states of the metals has not been unambiguously determined in the catalytic mechanism
Figure 6
Figure 6
Proposed MCR mechanisms. Mechanism I involves a methyl-Ni intermediate and Mechanism II involves a methyl radical.

References

    1. Tans P NOAA/ESRL. Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide - Mauna Loa. www.cmdl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends.
    1. Dlugokencky EJ, Masarie KA, Lang PM, Tans PP. Nature. 1998;393:447–450.
    1. Meyer O. In: Microbial gas metabolism, mechanistic, metabolic, and biotechnological aspects. Poole RK, Dow CS, editors. Academic press; London: 1985. pp. 131–151.
    1. Holo H, Sirevag R. Arch Microbiol. 1986;145:173–180.
    1. Strauss G, Fuchs G. Eur J Biochem. 1993;215:633–643. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources