Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of California, Irvine received a $503,280 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), awarded March 15, 2026, with a completion date of January 31, 2031. The award supports a five-year fundamental research investigation into nitrogenase, a complex metalloenzyme that catalyzes the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to bioavailable ammonia in biological nitrogen fixation. The research will employ genetic, biochemical, spectroscopic, and structural approaches to elucidate the enzymatic mechanism of nitrogen reduction at the cofactor's belt-sulfur sites and to characterize the asynchronous rotation dynamics between the two components of molybdenum-nitrogenase that coordinate the reaction sequences.

Beyond mechanistic investigation, the award supports development of a novel "bottom-up" heterologous expression strategy to enable functional nitrogenase production in foreign host organisms such as E. coli. This approach addresses current limitations in the traditional "top-down" methodology by systematically reconstructing key intermediates required for proper enzyme assembly. The research outcomes are intended to establish a foundational framework for understanding nitrogenase's reaction mechanism and to facilitate development of nitrogenase-based biotechnological applications with potential implications for sustainable agriculture and industrial nitrogen fixation processes.