Enzyme's Active Site Revealed

May 27, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

A new study from NAI’s Montana State University Team appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study probes the hydrogenase enzyme, a large, complex enzyme which plays a major role in anaerobic metabolism by creating molecular hydrogen. The research team produced a crystal structure of the enzyme to unprecedented resolution, revealing a new level of detail in the enzyme’s active site, and providing clues about it’s evolution. These results further our understanding of the transition from the abiotic (non-living) world to the biological world which may have been an early event in the development of life on Earth, and possibly a common feature of life elsewhere in the universe.