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E I Stiefel

Publications and source records attributed to E I Stiefel.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Overexpression and characterization of an iron storage and DNA-binding Dps protein from Trichodesmium erythraeum.

Although the role of iron in marine productivity has received a great deal of attention, no iron storage protein has been isolated from a marine microorganism previously. We describe an Fe-binding protein belonging to the Dps family (DNA binding protein from starved cells) in the N(2)-fixing marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum. A dps gene encoding a protein with significant levels of identity to members of the Dps family was identified in the genome of T. erythraeum. This gene codes for a putative Dps(T. erythraeurm) protein (Dps(tery)) with 69% primary amino acid sequence similarity to Synechococcus DpsA. We expressed and purified Dps(tery), and we found that Dps(tery), like other Dps proteins, is able to bind Fe and DNA and protect DNA from degradation by DNase. We also found that Dps(tery) binds phosphate, like other ferritin family proteins. Fe K near-edge X-ray absorption of Dps(tery) indicated that it has an iron core that resembles that of horse spleen ferritin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Toward separation and purification of olefins using dithiolene complexes: an electrochemical approach.

The complex Ni[S2C2(CF3)2]2 reacts with light olefins, including ethylene and propylene, selectively and reversibly. The reaction is not poisoned by hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide, acetylene, or hydrogen sulfide, which are commonly present in olefin streams, presumably because olefin binding occurs through the sulfur ligand rather than the metal center. The reversible reaction of olefins with Ni[S2C2(CN)2]2n (n = 0, -1, -2) can be controlled electrochemically, where the oxidation state-dependent binding and release of olefins are fast on the electrochemical time scale. The observed tolerance to poisons and controllable electrochemical reactivity present an alternative approach to the separation of olefins from complex streams.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Organometallic iron: the key to biological hydrogen metabolism.

X-ray crystallography of iron-hydrogenases reveals that the active-site H-cluster contains an unmistakably organometallic dinuclear iron subcluster. The nickel-hydrogenases, which in general play different metabolic roles, have a distinct but related active-site structure. The new structural definition, combined with chemical analogs and theoretical treatment, points toward mechanistic understanding of iron-hydrogenases and the possibility of a unified mechanism for all hydrogenases.

Ferric Compounds↗
PubMed1995

Resonance Raman spectroscopic characterization of the molybdopterin active site of DMSO reductase.

Resonance Raman spectra are compared for Rhodobacter sphaeroides dimethyl sulfoxide reductase, an enzyme containing a molybdopterin cofactor, and two model compounds, I and II, which have pterin and quinoxaline, respectively, attached to a Cp2Mo[IV]-dithiolene chelate [Cp = cyclopentadienyl]. The effect of 34S incorporation was also determined. Several bands in the 200-500 cm-1 region show remarkably similar patterns of frequencies and isotope shifts between protein and models: a band at 351 cm-1 shifts 6-8 cm-1, and bands at lower and higher frequencies show smaller shifts upon 34S substitution. A normal coordinate analysis on II indicates the 351 cm-1 mode to be the symmetric Mo-S[dithiolene] stretch and the remaining low-frequency modes to contain contributions from deformations of the quinoxaline ring as well as from Mo-S stretching. The similarity in the low-frequency spectra between the model compounds and the enzyme strongly supports a dithiolene chelate as the mode of Mo-pterin interaction in the cofactor. Resonance enhancement of both high- and low-frequency quinoxaline or pterin modes is observed for both model compounds, implicating the heterocyclic rings as part of the electronic system involved in the Mo-dithiolene charge transfer transitions. RR spectra of 6-methylpterin and biopterin are reported and used to identify the pterin and quinoxaline high-frequency bands in the model compound spectra. The dithiolene C = C stretch is tentatively assigned to bands at 1506 cm-1 in I and 1515 cm-1 in II.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1992

Unification of the ferritin family of proteins.

Ferritin is the iron-storage protein of eukaryotic organisms. The nucleotide sequence encoding Azotobacter vinelandii bacterioferritin, a hemoprotein, was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence reveals a high degree of identity with Escherichia coli bacterioferritin and a striking similarity to eukaryotic ferritins. Moreover, derivation of a global alignment shows that virtually all key residues specifying the unique structural motifs of eukaryotic ferritin are conserved or conservatively substituted in the A. vinelandii sequence. The alignment suggests specific methionine residues as heme-binding ligands in bacterioferritins. The overall sequence similarity with conservation of key structural residues implies that all ferritins form a unified family of proteins. The results implicate ferritins as proteins potentially common to all aerobic organisms and as such useful in taxonomic classification, evolutionary analysis, and environmental monitoring.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

E.p.r.-spectroscopic studies on the molybdenum-iron site of nitrogenase from Clostridium pasteurianum.

The e.p.r. spectroscopy of the nitrogenase molybdenum-iron protein from Clostridium pasteurianum was re-investigated. The sharpness of the delta Ms = +/- 3 g'z peak from the +/- 3/2 Kramer's doublet enables the observation and quantification of incompletely resolved hyperfine splittings from the stable magnetic nuclei 95Mo and 57Fe in samples enriched in these isotopes. No couplings to 1H or 17O could be discerned by examination of spectra from samples exchanged into 2H2O and H2(17)O respectively. Simulation of the spectrum from 95Mo-enriched samples yields a hyperfine coupling of 2.9 MHz, and indicates that the earlier electron-nuclear-double-resonance-derived estimate of 8.1 +/- 0.2 MHz is substantially in error.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1982

Iron-molybdenum cofactor from nitrogenase. Modified extraction methods as probes for composition.

Five modifications of the preparative procedure for isolating iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoco) from the molybdenum-iron (MoFe) protein of Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase have been developed. This variety of isolation methods has established that no single component of the original isolation protocol, i.e. Tris, Cl-, citrate, HPO4(2-), N,N-dimethylformamide, and N-methylformamide, is essential for the effective isolation and/or structural stability of FeMoco, although any of them may act as ligands to FeMoco when present. The acid-bse status (effective pH) of the extracting solvent is a key adjustable parameter in the isolation procedure. The new procedures produced FeMoco with yields, metal analysis, charge, EPR spectrum, and specific activity (after reconstituting crude extracts from A. vinelandii UW45 mutant cells) essentially identical with FeMoco isolated by the original procedure. After purification, FeMoco apparently contains molybdenum, iron, and sulfide in a 1:7:4 ratio with N-methylformamide as a ligand but no amino acid residues, common sugars, coenzyme A, or lipoic acid. Reaction with o-phenanthroline allows quantitation of both adventitious and FeMoco-associated iron. Correlations of total activity after UW45 reconstitution with molybdenum, total iron, and o-phenanthroline-resistant iron contents show that only the last gives a consistent relationship of 35 +/- 5 nmol of C2H4/min/ng atom of Fe. Both o-phenanthroline and EDTA interact with FeMoco to abolish its EPR signal in reactions reversible by additions of Fe2+ or Zn2+, respectively. These and related reactions point against the presence of an endogenous organic component in FeMoco and toward the presence of exogenous ligands and imply a relatively labile coordination sphere whose nature may be determinable by a systematic investigation.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1981

Nitrogenase reactivity: insight into the nitrogen-fixing process through hydrogen-inhibition and HD-forming reactions.

The dihydrogen reactions of nitrogenase are H2 evolution, H2 inhibition of N2 reduction, and HD production from H2/D2O or D2/H2O. The relationships among these dihydrogen reactions are studied to gain insight into the mechanism of N2 reduction. Detailed studies have probed (1) the formation of HD by nitrogenase as a function of partial pressures of N2, D2, and CO, (2) the formation of TOH from T2 under N2-fixing conditions, and (3) the reduction of hydrazine by nitrogenase. Experiments under T2 demonstrate that negligible tritium is incorporated into water compared to the HD produced under similar conditions. Studies of total electron flow, in the presence or absence of D2, establish a requirement of 1 mol of electrons/mol of HD formed. These findings show definitively that HD formation is not due to a simple H2O/D2 exchange mechanism. Kinetic analysis shows that HD is produced by two separate processes. In the minor process, the HD formed is proportional to the H2 evolved, electron requiring, and partially inhibited by 1% CO. In the major process, HD formation is dependent on N2 pressure, electron requiring, and completely inhibited by CO. A mechanism is proposed whereby HD from the N2-dependent process is formed from a bound, reduced dinitrogen intermediate. This mechanism is supported by studies using hydrazine as a substrate for nitrogenase and leads to the conclusion that H2 inhibition of nitrogen fixation and N2-dependent HD formation are manifestations of the same molecular process.

Ammonia↗
PubMed1980

Large-scale purification of high activity Azotobacter vinelandII nitrogenase.

A large scale, rapid, high-yield purification procedure for Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase proteins has been developed. Yields of approx. 600 mg of the FeMo protein (Av1) and approx. 550 mg of the Fe protein Av2 are routinely obtained using a procedure that requires only 28 h. The specific activities of Av1 and Av2, respectively, are 3000 and 2100 nmol H2 evolved/min per mg. These activities are significantly higher higher than those comonly used in reactivity studies. Procedures for the isolation and concentration of large quantities of iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase are also reported. Techniques for anaerobic protein manipulation, generally applicable to the purification of oxygen sensitive proteins are also described.

Anaerobiosis↗
PubMed1980

Oxidation-reduction properties and complexation reactions of the iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase.

The interactions of the iron-molybdenum cofactor, FeMoco, isolated from acid-treated Azotobacter vinelandii molybdenum-iron protein (Av1) with EDTA and thiophenol in N-methylformamide solution have been reinvestigated. Our studies show that EDTA alone is sufficient to eliminate the EPR signal of dithionite-reduced FeMoco. Neither light/5-deazaflavin nor carbon monoxide are required, which implies that this EPR-silent form of FeMoco does not correspond to the EPR-silent, substrate-reducing state of Av1. As EDTA-treated FeMoco does not regain EPR activity on addition of sodium dithionite or thiophenol, it is apparently distinct from the EPR-silent form of either dye-oxidized FeMoco or dye-oxidized Av1. Thiophenol sharpens the EPR signal of dithionite-reduced FeMoco and shifts the g = 3.3 feature to g = 3.6. This shift is complete at 1:1 ratio of thiophenol/Mo atom, while the EDTA effect requires about 40 molecules/Mo atom. Thiophenol and EDTA probably affect different sites of FeMoco. The binding of either reactant does not affect the activity of FeMoco as measured by its ability to reconstitute extracts of A. vinelandii mutant UW45.

Azotobacter↗
PubMed1973

Proposed molecular mechanism for the action of molybedenum in enzymes: coupled proton and electron transfer.

The reactions catalyzed by Mo enzymes each find the product differing from the substrate by two electrons and two protons (or some multiple thereof). The coordination chemistry of Mo suggests that there is a distinct relationship between acid-base and redox properties of Mo complexes, and that a coupled electron-proton transfer (to or from substrate) may be mediated by Mo in enzymes. Each of the Mo enzymes (nitrogenase, nitrate reductase, xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, and sulfite oxidase) is discussed; it is shown that a simple molecular mechanism embodying coupled proton-electron transfer can explain many key experimental observations. In view of this mechanism, the reasons for the use of Mo (from an evolutionary and chemical point of view) are discussed and other metals that may replace Mo are considered.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗