Cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of NifH1 from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii

Nitrogen fixation is catalyzed by the nitrogenase complex in Azotobacter, which is composed of dinitrogenase and dinitrogenase reductase. Dinitrogenase is an α₂β₂ heterotetramer of the proteins NifD and NifK. Dinitrogenase reductase is a homodimer of the protein NifH. The expression of NifD/K and NifH nitrogenase homologues (named NflD/K and NflH for Nif-like D and H, respectively) has been detected in the non-nitrogen-fixing hyperthermophilic methanogen Methanocaldococcus jannaschii. Solving the structure of MjNifH1 may help in better understanding its function and may supply some clues to understanding the evolution of nitrogenase. The full-length protein with an additional His₆ tag at the C-terminus was expressed, purified and crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method at 287 K. An X-ray diffraction data set was collected to a resolution of 3.3 Å. The crystal belonged to space group P4₁32, with unit-cell parameters a = b = c = 139.45 Å, and was estimated to contain one protein molecule per asymmetric unit.