Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:1.7.1.4 (nitrite reductase)
1,847 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Dissimilatory nitrite reductase catalyses the reduction of nitrite (NO(2)(-)) to nitric oxide (NO). Copper-containing nitrite reductases contain both type 1 and type 2 Cu sites. Electron transfer from redox partners is presumed to be mediated via the type 1 Cu site and used at the catalytic type 2 Cu centre along with the substrate nitrite. At the type 2 Cu site, Asp92 has been identified as a key residue in substrate utilisation, since it hydrogen bonds to the water molecule at the nitrite binding site. We have also suggested that protons enter the catalytic site via Asp92, through a water network that is mediated by His254. The role of these residues has been investigated in the blue copper nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes xylosoxidans (NCIMB 11015) by a combination of point mutation, enzymatic activity measurement and structure determination.In addition, it has been suggested that the enzyme operates via an ordered mechanism where an electron is transferred to the type 2 Cu site largely when the second substrate nitrite is bound and that this is controlled via the lowering of the redox potential of the type 2 site when it is loaded with nitrite. Thus, a small perturbation of the type 1 Cu site should result in a significant effect on the activity of the enzyme. For this reason a mutation of Met144, which is the weakest ligand of the type 1 Cu, is investigated. The structures of H254F, D92N and M144A have been determined to 1.85 A, 1.9 A and 2.2 A resolution, respectively. The D92N and H254F mutants have negligible or no activity, while the M144A mutant has 30 % activity of the native enzyme. Structural and spectroscopic data show that the loss of activity in H254F is due to the catalytic site being occupied by Zn while the loss/reduction of activity in D92N/M144A are due to structural reasons. The D92N mutation results in the loss of the Asp92 hydrogen bond to the Cu-ligated water. Therefore, the ligand is no longer able to perform proton abstraction. Even though the loss of activity in H254F is due to lack of catalytic Cu, the mutation does cause the disruption of the water network, confirming its key role in proton channel. The structure of the H254F mutant is the first case where full occupancy Zn at the type 2 Cu site is observed, but despite the previously noted similarity of this site to the carbonic anhydrase catalytic site, no carbonic anhydrase activity is observed. The H254F and D92N mutant structures provide, for the first time, observation of surface Zn sites which may act as a Zn sink and prevent binding of Zn at the catalytic Cu site in the native enzyme.
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PMID:Biochemical and crystallographic studies of the Met144Ala, Asp92Asn and His254Phe mutants of the nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes xylosoxidans provide insight into the enzyme mechanism. 1182 2

The aim of this study was to develop a protocol for the simultaneous extraction from bacterioplankton of RNA and DNA suitable for quantitative molecular analysis. By using a combined mechanical and chemical extraction method, the highest RNA and DNA yield was obtained with sodium lauryl sarcosinate-phenol or DivoLab-phenol as the extraction mix. The efficiency of extraction of nucleic acids was comparatively high and varied only moderately in gram-negative bacterial isolates and bacterioplankton (RNA, 52 to 66%; DNA, 43 to 61%); significant amounts of nucleic acids were also obtained for a gram-positive bacterial isolate (RNA, 20 to 30%; DNA, 20 to 25%). Reverse transcription-PCR and PCR amplification products of fragments of 16S rRNA and its genes were obtained from all isolates and communities, indicating that the extracted nucleic acids were intact and pure enough for community structure analyses. By using single-strand conformation polymorphism of fragments of 16S rRNA and its gene, community fingerprints were obtained from pond bacterioplankton. mRNA transcripts encoding fragments of the enzyme nitrite reductase gene (nir gene) could be detected in a pond water sample, indicating that the extraction method is also suitable for studying gene expression. The extraction method presented yields nucleic acids that can be used to perform structural and functional studies of bacterioplankton communities from a single sample.
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PMID:Simultaneous extraction from bacterioplankton of total RNA and DNA suitable for quantitative structure and function analyses. 1187 53

Electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) of protons at Type 2 and Type 1 cupric active sites correlates with the enzymatic pH dependence, the mutation of nearby conserved, nonligating residues, and electron transfer in heterologously expressed Rhodobacter sphaeroides nitrite reductase. Wild-type enzyme showed a pH 6 activity maximum but no kinetic deuterium isotope effect, suggesting protons are not transferred in the rate-limiting step of nitrite reduction. However, protonatable Asp129 and His287, both located near the Type 2 center, modulated enzyme activity. ENDOR of the wild-type Type 2 center at pH 6.0 revealed an exchangeable proton with large hyperfine coupling. Dipolar distance estimates indicated that this proton was 2.50-2.75 or 2.25-2.45 A from Type 2 copper in the presence or absence of nitrite, respectively. This proton may provide a properly oriented hydrogen bond to enhance water formation upon nitrite reduction. This proton was eliminated at pH 5.0 and showed a diminished coupling at pH 7.5. Mutations of Asp129 and His287 reduced enzyme activity and altered the exchangeable proton hyperfine spectra. Mutation of Asp129 prevented a pH-dependent change at the Type 1 Cys167 ligand as observed by Cys C(beta) proton ENDOR, implying there is a Type 2 and pH-dependent alteration of the Type 1 center. Mutation of the Type 1 center ligand Met182 to Thr and mutation of Asp129 increased the activation energy for nitrite reduction. Involvement of both the Type 1 center and Asp129 in modulating activation energy shows that electron transfer from the Type 1 center to a nitrite-ligated Type 2 center is rate-limiting for nitrite reduction. Mutation of Ile289 to Ala and Val caused minor perturbation to enzyme activity, but as detected by ENDOR, allowed formate binding. Thus, bulky Ile289 may exclude non-nitrite ligands from the Type 2 active site.
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PMID:Catalytic function and local proton structure at the type 2 copper of nitrite reductase: the correlation of enzymatic pH dependence, conserved residues, and proton hyperfine structure. 1204 80

Cytochrome c nitrite reductase catalyzes the six-electron reduction of nitrite to ammonia without the release of potential reaction intermediates, such as NO or hydroxylamine. On the basis of the crystallographic observation of reaction intermediates and of density functional calculations, we present a working hypothesis for the reaction mechanism of this multiheme enzyme which carries a novel lysine-coordinated heme group (Fe-Lys). It is proposed that nitrite reduction starts with a heterolytic cleavage of the N-O bond which is facilitated by a pronounced back-bonding interaction of nitrite coordinated through nitrogen to the reduced (Fe(II)) but not the oxidized (Fe(III)) active site iron. This step leads to the formation of an [FeNO](6) species and a water molecule and is further facilitated by a hydrogen bonding network that induces an electronic asymmetry in the nitrite molecule that weakens one N-O bond and strengthens the other. Subsequently, two rapid one-electron reductions lead to an [FeNO](8) form and, by protonation, to an Fe(II)-HNO adduct. Hereafter, hydroxylamine will be formed by a consecutive two-electron two-proton step which is dehydrated in the final two-electron reduction step to give ammonia and an additional water molecule. A single electron reduction of the active site closes the catalytic cycle.
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PMID:Mechanism of the six-electron reduction of nitrite to ammonia by cytochrome c nitrite reductase. 1229 41

Cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase is a bifunctional multiheme enzyme catalyzing the one-electron reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide and the four-electron reduction of dioxygen to water. Kinetics and thermodynamics of the internal electron transfer process in the Pseudomonas stutzeri enzyme have been studied and found to be dominated by pronounced interactions between the c and the d1 hemes. The interactions are expressed both in dramatic changes in the internal electron-transfer rates between these sites and in marked cooperativity in their electron affinity. The results constitute a prime example of intraprotein control of the electron-transfer rates by allosteric interactions.
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PMID:Allosteric control of internal electron transfer in cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase. 1280 18

Nitrite reduction by cytochrome cd(1) nitrite reductase (cd(1)NIR) is currently accepted to involve coordination of the nitrite nitrogen atom to the ferrous d(1) heme. Here, density functional theory results are reported on the previously unexplored O-binding of nitrite to ferrous and ferric cd(1)NIR. Although the N-isomer (nitro) is energetically favored over the O-nitrite (nitrito), even one single strong hydrogen bond may provide the energy required to put the two isomers on level terms. When hydrogen bonding existent at the cd(1)NIR active site is accounted for in the computational model, the O-nitrite isomer is found to spontaneously protonate and thus yield a ferric-hydroxo species, liberating nitric oxide. An O-nitrite ferrous cd(1)NIR complex appears to be an energetically feasible intermediate for nitrite reduction. O-Coordination would offer an advantage since the end product of nitrite reduction would be a ferric-hydroxo/water complex, rather than the more kinetically inert iron-nitrosyl complex implied by the N-nitrite mechanism.
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PMID:Linkage isomerism in nitrite reduction by cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase. 1518 Apr 27

Copper-containing nitrite reductases (NiR's) have been conveniently subdivided into blue and green NiR's which are thought to be redox partners of azurins and pseudo-azurins, respectively. Crystal structures of two green NiR's have recently been determined. Alcaligenes xylosoxidans has been shown to have a blue-copper nitrite reductase (AxNiR) and two azurins with 67% homology both of which donate electrons to it effectively. The first crystal structure of a blue NiR (AxNiR) in its oxidized and nitrite-bound forms, with particular emphasis to the Cu sites, is presented. The Cu-Smet distance is the same as those in the green NiR's. Thus, the length of this interaction is unlikely to be responsible for differences in colour. Crystallographic data presented here taken together with structural data of other single Cu type-1 proteins and their mutants suggest that the displacement of Cu from the strong ligand plane is perhaps the cause for the differences in colour observed for otherwise 'classical' blue Cu centre. Nitrite is observed binding to the catalytic Cu in a bidentate fashion displacing the water molecule, offering a neat rationalization for the XAFS observation that the type-2 Cu-ligand distances increase on nitrite binding as a result of increased coordination. These results are discussed in terms of enzyme mechanism.
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PMID:Structures of a blue-copper nitrite reductase and its substrate-bound complex. 1529 6

Denitrification, the reduction of nitrate to nitrous oxide or dinitrogen, is the major biological mechanism by which fixed nitrogen returns to the atmosphere from soil and water. Microorganisms capable of denitrification are widely distributed in the environment but little is known about their abundance since quantification is performed using fastidious and time-consuming MPN-based approaches. We used real-time PCR to quantify the denitrifying nitrite reductase gene (nirK), a key enzyme of the denitrifying pathway catalyzing the reduction of soluble nitrogen oxide to gaseous form. The real-time PCR assay was linear over 7 orders of magnitude and sensitive down to 10(2) copies by assay. Real-time PCR analysis of different soil samples showed nirK densities of 9.7x10(4) to 3.9x10(6) copies per gram of soil. Soil real-time PCR products were cloned and sequenced. Analysis of 56 clone sequences revealed that all cloned real-time PCR products exhibited high similarities to previously described nirK. However, phylogenetic analysis showed that most of environmental sequences are not related to nirK from cultivated denitrifiers.
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PMID:Quantification of denitrifying bacteria in soils by nirK gene targeted real-time PCR. 1548 76

The major sites of water column denitrification in the ocean are oxygen minimum zones (OMZ), such as one in the eastern South Pacific (ESP). To understand the structure of denitrifying communities in the OMZ off Chile, denitrifier communities at two sites in the Chilean OMZ (Antofagasta and Iquique) and at different water depths were explored by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and cloning of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified nirS genes. NirS is a functional marker gene for denitrification encoding cytochrome cd1-containing nitrite reductase, which catalyses the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide, the key step in denitrification. Major differences were found between communities from the two geographic locations. Shifts in community structure occurred along a biogeochemical gradient at Antofagasta. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that O2, NO3-, NO2- and depth were important environmental factors governing these communities along the biogeochemical gradient in the water column. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the majority of clones from the ESP in distinct clusters of genes from presumably novel and yet uncultivated denitrifers. These nirS clusters were distantly related to those found in the water column of the Arabian Sea but the phylogenetic distance was even higher compared with environmental sequences from marine sediments or any other habitat. This finding suggests similar environmental conditions trigger the development of denitrifiers with related nirS genotypes despite large geographic distances.
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PMID:Communities of nirS-type denitrifiers in the water column of the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern South Pacific. 1610 53

Nitrite reductase is an enzyme operating in the denitrification pathway which catalyses the conversion of nitrite (NO2(-)) to gaseous nitric oxide (NO). Here, crystal structures of the oxidized and reduced forms of the copper-containing nitrite reductase from Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.3 are presented at 1.74 and 1.85 A resolution, respectively. Whereas the structure of the enzyme is very similar to those of other copper-containing nitrite reductases, folding as a trimer and containing two copper sites per monomer, the structures reported here enable conformational differences between the oxidized and reduced forms of the enzyme to be identified. In the type 1 copper site, a rotational perturbation of the side chain of the copper ligand Met182 occurs upon reduction. At the type 2 copper site, a dual conformation of the catalytic residue His287 is observed in the oxidized structure but is lacking in the reduced structure, such that the interactions of the oxidized type 2 copper ion can be regarded as adopting octahedral geometry. These findings shed light on the structural mechanism of the reduction of a copper-bound nitrite to nitric oxide and water.
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PMID:Structures of the oxidized and reduced forms of nitrite reductase from Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.3 at high pH: changes in the interactions of the type 2 copper. 1613 51


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