Biosynthesis of Nitrogenase FeMoco.

Biosynthesis of nitrogenase FeMoco is a highly complex process that requires, minimally, the participation of nifS, nifU, nifB, nifE, nifN, nifV, nifH, nifD and nifK gene products. Previous genetic analyses have identified the essential factors for the assembly of FeMoco; however, the exact functions of these factors and the precise sequence of events during the assembly process had remained unclear until recently, when a number of the biosynthetic intermediates of FeMoco were identified and characterized by combined biochemical, spectroscopic and structural analyses. This review gives a brief account of the recent progress toward understanding the assembly process of FeMoco, which has identified some important missing pieces of this biosynthetic puzzle.