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The nitrogen enzyme comprises two components, of which component I catalyzes the reduction of N2 and other substrates and component II transfers electrons to dinitrogenase. Component I employs iron-molybdenum cofactor as an activizer, and is synthesized by the nif gene products. Apodinitrogenase is an oligomer that is comprised of an additional protein absent in the active dinitrogenase tetramer, and it lacks the iron-molybdenum cofactor at its active site. The protein in Klebsiella pneumoniae is a product of the nifY gene.

The Klebsiella pneumoniae NifT protein is unnecessary for nitrogen fixation as the regulation and maturation of nitrogenase in nifT expressing strains is similar to that in strains overexpressing nifT. NifT is probably involved in the insertion of the FeMo-co into apodinitrogenase or the formation of the dinitrogenase P clusters. NifT may also be needed for the maturation of dinitrogenase reductase.