The structural proteins for the complex metalloenzyme nitrogenase include NIFK, NIFD and NIFH. These proteins are all necessary for archaeal and bacterial nitrogen fixation. The NIFK gene encodes the b subunit of the nitrogenase molybdenum-iron (MoFe) tetramer. NIFK localizes to the nucleolus where it interactes with the fork-head associated domain of the proliferation marker protein Ki-67 in a mitosis-specific and phosphorylation-dependent manner. NIFK is widely expressed in adult tissues, suggesting other functions in addition to its interaction with Ki-67, which is only expressed in proliferating cells.
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