Thomas J Lie, Yang P Kuo, Mara Leite, Kyle C Costa, Caroline S Harwood, John A Leigh
Methanocaldococcus sp. strain FS406-22, a hyperthermophilic methanogen, fixes nitrogen with a minimal set of known nif genes. Only four structural nif genes, nifH , nifD , nifK , and nifE, are present in a cluster, and a nifB homolog is present elsewhere in the genome. nifN , essential for the final synthesis of the iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase in well-characterized diazotrophs, is absent from FS406-22. In addition, FS406-22 encodes four novel hypothetical proteins, and a ferredoxin, in the nif cluster...
February 2, 2022: Microbiology Spectrum