期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:1977
卷号:74
期号:12
页码:5468-5471
DOI:10.1073/pnas.74.12.5468
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:A molybdenum cofactor (Mo-co) from xanthine oxidase (xanthine:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.2.3.2 ) can be isolated from the enzyme by a technique that has been used to isolate an iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMo-co) from component I of nitrogenase. N-Methylformamide is used for the extraction of these molybdenum cofactors. Mo-co from xanthine oxidase activates nitrate reductase (NADPH:nitrate oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.6.2 ) in an extract from Neurospora crassa mutant strain Nit-1; however, FeMo-co is unable to activate nitrate reductase in strain Nit-1. Mo-co from xanthine oxidase is unable to activate nitrogenase in an extract of Azotobacter vinelandii mutant strain UW45. Inactive component I in this extract can be activated by FeMo-co. These results indicate that nitrate reductase and xanthine oxidase share a common molybdenum cofactor, but this cofactor is different from the molybdenum cofactor in nitrogenase. A. vinelandii synthesizes both Mo-co and FeMo-co. Mo-co is produced when the cells fix N2 and also when they are repressed for nitrogenase synthesis by growth in a medium containing excess ammonium. However, FeMo-co is not produced when cells are grown in an ammonium-containing medium. Partially purified preparations of component I from A. vinelandii and Klebsiella pneumoniae contain both FeMo-co and Mo-co. The presence of both FeMo-co and Mo-co activities in partially purified preparations of component I explains previous reports of activation of inactive nitrate reductase in strain Nit-1 by acid-treated component I of nitrogenase. The Mo-co can be separated from FeMo-co in these preparations by chromatography on Sephadex G-100 in N-methylformamide. Both FeMo-co and Mo-co are sensitive to oxygen.