Redox-Dependent Structural Changes in the Nitrogenase P-Cluster

The structure of the nitrogenase MoFe-protein from Azotobacter vinelandii has been refined to 2.0 Å resolution in two oxidation states. EPR studies on the crystals indicate that the structures correspond to the spectroscopically assigned oxidized (POX/MOX) and the native or dithionite-reduced (PN/MN) forms of the enzyme. Both MoFe-protein structures are essentially identical, with the exception of the P-cluster. The MoFe-protein P-cluster in each state is found to contain eight Fe and seven S atoms. Interconversion between the two redox states involves movement of two Fe atoms and an exchange of protein coordination for ligands supplied by a central S atom. In the oxidized POX state, the cluster is coordinated by the protein through six cysteine ligands, Ser-β188 Oγ, and the backbone amide of Cys-α88. In the native PN state, Ser-β188 Oγ and the amide N of Cys-α88 no longer coordinate the cluster due to movement of their coordinated Fe atoms toward the central sulfur. Consequently, this central sulfur adopts a distorted octahedral environment with six surrounding Fe atoms. A previously described model of the P-cluster containing 8Fe-8S likely reflects the inappropriate modeling of a single structure to a mixture of these two P-cluster redox states. These observed redox-mediated structural changes of the P-cluster suggest a role for this cluster in coupling electron transfer and proton transfer in nitrogenase.