Neodymium as Metal Cofactor for Biological Methanol Oxidation: Structure and Kinetics of an XoxF1-Type Methanol Dehydrogenase

Abstract

Lanthanides comprise a group of 15 elements with atomic numbers 57 to 71 that are essential in a variety of high-tech devices, such as mobile phones, but were considered biologically inert for a long time. The biological relevance of lanthanides became evident when the acidophilic methanotroph Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum SolV, isolated from a volcanic mud pot, could only grow when lanthanides were supplied to the growth medium.