Anthropogenic addition of bio-available nitrogen to the global nitrogen cycle has led to a host of environmental problems. Copper-containing nitrite reductase (CuNIR) is a key enzyme in the process of denitrification by catalysing the one-electron reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide, but details of the mechanism of the electron-transfer reaction are still unknown. Here, the high-resolution crystal structure of the electron-transfer complex for CuNIR is presented and analysed.
- Masaki Nojiri
- Hiroyasu Koteishi
- Shinnichiro Suzuki
