Illuminating how nitrogenase makes ammonia

PNNL researchers demystify the workings of this complex enzyme

(January 2019)

A team of researchers led by PNNL computational scientist Simone Raugei have revealed new insights about how this complex enzyme does its job, finding that the seemingly wasteful formation of hydrogen has an essential purpose. Their paper, "Critical computational analysis illuminates the reductive-elimination mechanism that activates nitrogenase for N₂ reduction," was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in November 2018. Raugei's co-authors are Lance Seefeldt, who holds a joint appointment at PNNL and Utah State University, and Brian Hoffman of Northwestern University. Read more ...