Azotobacter vinelandii

Taxobox
color = lightgrey
name = "Azotobacter"
regnum = Bacteria
phylum = Proteobacteria
classis = Gamma Proteobacteria
ordo = Pseudomonadales
familia = Pseudomonadaceae
genus = Azotobacter
species = "A. vinelandii"
binomial = "Azotobacter vinelandii""Azotobacter vinelandii" is a diazotroph that can fix nitrogen while grown aerobically. It is a genetically tractable system that is used to study nitrogen fixation. These bacteria are easily cultured and grown.

It is a free-living N2 fixer which is known to produce many phytohormones and vitamins in the soil.

The nitrogenase holoenzyme of "Azotobacter vinelandii" has been characterised "via" x-ray crystallography in both ADP tetrafluoroaluminate-bound [Schindelin, H., Kisker, C., Schlessman, J.L., Howard, J.B., Rees, D.C. (1997) Structure of ADP x AIF4(-)-stabilized nitrogenase complex and its implications for signal transduction. "Nature" 387: 370-376] and MgATP-bound [Chiu, H., Peters, J.W., Lanzilotta, W.N., Ryle, M.J., Seefeldt, L.C., Howard, J.B., Rees, D.C. (2001) MgATP-Bound and nucleotide-free structures of a nitrogenase protein complex between the Leu 127 Delta-Fe-protein and the MoFe-protein. "Biochemistry" 40: 641-650] states. The enzyme possesses molybdenum iron-sulfido cluster cofactors (FeMoCo) as active sites, each bearing 2 pseudo-cubic iron-sulfido structures.

References