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. 2010 Aug 6;329(5992):642.
doi: 10.1126/science.1191455.

Vanadium nitrogenase reduces CO

Chi Chung Lee  1 , Yilin Hu, Markus W Ribbe
Affiliations

Vanadium nitrogenase reduces CO

Chi Chung Lee et al. Science. .

Abstract

Vanadium nitrogenase not only reduces dinitrogen to ammonia but also reduces carbon monoxide to ethylene, ethane, and propane. The parallelism between the two reactions suggests a potential link in mechanism and evolution between the carbon and nitrogen cycles on Earth.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CO-reducing activity of V-nitrogenase. Time-courses of C2H4 (A, upper), C2H6 (B, upper), and C3H8 (C, upper) formation by V- (- formula image-) and Mo- (-●-) nitrogenases in the presence of 100% CO [Data are presented as the means ± SD (N = 5).]; and GC-MS analysis of C2H4 (A, lower), C2H6 (B, lower), and C3H8 (C, lower) formed by V- (red lines) and Mo- (black lines) nitrogenases in the presence of 100% CO. The products were analyzed with 12CO or 13CO as the substrate and traced at the following m/z (lower panels): A,1 and A,2: 28.031; A,3 and A,4: 30.047; B,1 and B,2: 30.047; B,3 and B,4: 32.054; C,1 and C,2: 44.062; C,3 and C,4: 47.073.
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    1. Alternative substrates of Mo-nitrogenase include alkynes, cyanides, nitriles and nitrogen oxides; whereas alternative substrates of V-nitrogenase have not been studied extensively (4).

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