A methyltetrahydrofolate:corrinoid/iron-sulfur protein methyltransferase (MeTr) from Clostridium thermoaceticum catalyzes the transfer of the N5 methyl group from (6S)-methyltetrahydrofolate (CH3-H4folate) to the cobalt center of a corrinoid/iron-sulfur protein (C/Fe-SP). The methylcobamide product is the first in a series of enzyme-bound organometallic intermediates in the acetyl-CoA pathway of anaerobic CO2 fixation. The mechanisms of the forward and reverse reactions with CH3-H4folate and either the C/Fe-SP or vitamin B12 as substrates were studied by steady-state and pre-steady-state kinetics. This ability to effectively utilize free cobalamin as well as the C/Fe-SP in the transmethylation appears to explain why [14C]methylcobyric acid was found as a product of labeling C. thermoaceticum cells with 14CO2 [Ljungdahl, L. G., Irion, E., & Wood, H. G. (1965) Biochemistry 4, 2771-2780]. Stopped-flow experiments indicate that the Co(I)-C/Fe-SP performs a direct SN2 displacement of the methyl group of CH3-H4folate to form H4folate and methyl-Co(III). The pre-steady-state rate constants in the forward and reverse reactions increased as the pH was lowered (pKa approximately 5.5). Similar pH profiles were obtained by steady-state kinetics. The kcat/Km values for the C/Fe-SP and CH3-H4folate in the forward direction and for the methylated C/Fe-SP and H4folate in the reverse direction increased as the pH was lowered (pKa approximately 5.3). A different pH profile was obtained with free cobalamin as the substrate; the kcat/Km for CH3-H4folate and cobalamin (forward reaction) increased (pKa approximately 7.0) and the kcat/Km for H4folate and methylcobalamin (reverse reaction) decreased (pKa approximately 5.3) as the pH was lowered.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)