Identification of an active site bound Nitrile Hydratase Intermediate through Single Turnover Stopped-Flow Spectroscopy

This is a paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry by Natalie Gumataotao, Misty L. Kuhn, Natalia Hajnas and Richard C. Holz (DOI:10.1074/jbc.M112.398909). Using stopped-flow methodology on the NHase from Rhodococcus equi TG328-2, the authors observe evidence of the first Fe3+-nitrile intermediate species ever reported, and hence show the direct ligation of nitrile to metal during catalytic turnover.