Critical evaluation of a crystal structure of nitrogenase with bound N2 ligands
Recently, a 1.83 Å crystallographic structure of nitrogenase was suggested to show N2-derived ligands at three sites in the catalytic FeMo cluster, replacing the three μ2 bridging sulfide ligands (two in one subunit and the third in the other subunit) (Kang et al. in Science 368: 1381–1385, 2020). Naturally, such a structure is sensational, having strong bearings on the reaction mechanism of the e