ABSTRACTFe protein (dinitrogenase reductase) activity is reversibly inactivated by dinitrogenase reductase ADP-ribosyltransferase (DraT) in response to an increase in the ammonium concentration or a decrease in cellular energy inAzospirillum brasilense,Rhodospirillum rubrum, andRhodobacter capsulatus. The ADP-ribosyl is removed by the dinitrogenase reductase-activating glycohydrolase (DraG), promoting Fe protein reactivation. The signaling pathway leading to DraT activation by ammonium is still not completely understood, but the available evidence shows the involvement of direct interaction between the enzyme and the nitrogen-signaling PIIproteins. InA. brasilense, two PIIproteins, GlnB and GlnZ, were identified. We used Fe protein fromAzotobacter vinelandiias the substrate to assess the activity ofA. brasilenseDraTin vitrocomplexed or not with PIIproteins. Under our conditions, GlnB was necessary for DraT activity in the presence of Mg-ADP. The PIIeffector 2-oxoglutarate, in the presence of Mg-ATP, inhibited DraT-GlnB activity, possibly by inducing complex dissociation. DraT was also activated by GlnZ and by both uridylylated PIIproteins, but not by a GlnB variant carrying a partial deletion of the T loop. Kinetics studies revealed that theA. brasilenseDraT-GlnB complex was at least 18-fold more efficient than DraT purified fromR. rubrum, but with a similarKmvalue for NAD+. Our results showed that ADP-ribosylation of the Fe protein does not affect the electronic state of its metal cluster and prevents association between the Fe and MoFe proteins, thus inhibiting electron transfer.