Abstract
Methane, the major component of natural gas, has been in use in human civilization since ancient times as a source of fuel and light. Methanogens are responsible for synthesis of most of the methane found on Earth. The enzyme responsible for catalyzing the chemical step of methanogenesis is methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), a nickel enzyme that contains a tetrapyrrole cofactor called coenzyme F430, which can traverse the Ni(I), (II), and (III) oxidation states. MCR and methanogens are also involved in anaerobic methane oxidation. This review describes structural, kinetic, and computational studies aimed at elucidating the mechanism of MCR. Such studies are expected to impact the many ramifications of methane in our society and environment, including energy production and greenhouse gas warming.
Please cite as: Met. Ions Life Sci. 14 (2014) 125–145
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Acknowledgments
I thank those students, postdoctoral fellows and collaborators who have been working on the biochemistry of methane formation, with special thanks to Dariusz Sliwa for helping to generate Figure 1 for this paper. I gratefully acknowledge support (DE-FG02-08ER15931) from the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy and from ARPA-E (DE-AR0000426).
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Abbreviations
Abbreviations
- ACS:
-
acetyl-CoA synthase
- AOM:
-
anaerobic oxidation of methane
- bce:
-
before the common era = before Christ
- BES:
-
bromoethanesulfonate
- BPS:
-
bromopropanesulfonate
- CNG:
-
compressed natural gas
- CoA:
-
coenzyme A
- CoBSH:
-
coenzyme B mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate
- CODH:
-
carbon monoxide dehydrogenase
- CoMSH:
-
coenzyme M mercaptoethanesulfonate
- DFT:
-
density functional theory
- ENDOR:
-
electron nuclear double resonance
- EPR:
-
electron paramagnetic resonance
- ESEEM:
-
electron spin echo modulation
- EXAFS:
-
extended X-ray absorption fine structure
- HYSCORE:
-
hyperfine sublevel correlation spectroscopy
- LNG:
-
liquid natural gas
- MCD:
-
magnetic circular dichroism
- MCR:
-
methyl-coenzyme M reductase
- NHE:
-
normal hydrogen electrode
- NMR:
-
nuclear magnetic resonance
- SAM:
-
S-adenosylmethionine
- SOD:
-
superoxide dismutase
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Ragsdale, S.W. (2014). Biochemistry of Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase: The Nickel Metalloenzyme that Catalyzes the Final Step in Synthesis and the First Step in Anaerobic Oxidation of the Greenhouse Gas Methane. In: Kroneck, P., Torres, M. (eds) The Metal-Driven Biogeochemistry of Gaseous Compounds in the Environment. Metal Ions in Life Sciences, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9269-1_6
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