Chemistry and biochemistry of vanadium.

The transition metal vanadium is considered to be essential for plants and animals. In order to understand its physiological function, some important chemical properties of V are reviewed, e.g. its redox activity and the tendency of V3+, VO2+, and VO3- ions to form chelates with numerous ligands. A survey of the occurrence and distribution of kV in geochemistry and in living organisms is followed by a consideration of the V influence on several metabolic events such as microbial nitrogen metabolism, chlorophyll biosynthesis, and activation or inhibition of regulatory enzymes.