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Using a combination of various types of genetic manipulations (promoter replacement and gene cloning in replicating plasmid expression vector), we have overproduced the complex hydrogenase enzyme in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803. This new strain overproduce all twelve following proteins: HoxEFUYH (hydrogen production), HoxW (maturation of the HoxH subunit of hydrogenase) and HypABCDEF (assembly of the [NiFe] redox center of HoxHY hydrogenase). This strain when grown in the presence of a suitable quantities of nickel and iron used here exhibit a strong (25-fold) increase in hydrogenase activity, as compared to the WT strain growing in the standard medium. Hence, this strain can be very useful for future analyses of the cyanobacterial [NiFe] hydrogenase to determine its structure and, in turn, improve its tolerance to oxygen with the future goal of increasing hydrogen production. We also report the counterintuitive notion that lowering the activity of the Synechocystis urease can increase the photoproduction of biomass from urea-polluted waters, without decreasing hydrogenase activity. Such cyanobacterial factories with high hydrogenase activity and a healthy growth on urea constitute an important step towards the future development of an economical industrial processes coupling H2 production from solar energy and CO2, with wastewater treatment (urea depollution). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The eukaryotic green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, produces H2 under anaerobic conditions, in a reaction catalysed by a [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase HydA1. For further biochemical and biophysical studies a suitable expression system of this enzyme should be found to overcome its weak expression in the host organism. Two heterologous expression systems used up to now have several advantages. However they are not free from some drawbacks. In this work we use bacterium Shewanella oneidensis as a new and efficient system for expression and maturation of HydA1 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Results: Based on codon usage bias and hydrogenase maturation ability, the bacterium S. oneidensis, which possesses putative [Fe-Fe] and [Ni-Fe] hydrogenase operons, was selected as the best potential host for C. reinhardtii [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase expression. Hydrogen formation by S. oneidensis strain AS52 (ΔhydAΔhyaB) transformed with a plasmid bearing CrHydA1 and grown in the presence of six different substrates for anaerobic respiration was determined. A significant increase in hydrogen evolution was observed for cells grown in the presence of trimethylamine oxide, dimethylsulfoxide and disodium thiosulfate, showing that the system of S. oneidensis is efficient for heterologous expression of algal [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase. Conclusion: In the present work a new efficient system for heterologous expression and maturation of C. reinhardtii hydrogenase has been developed. HydA1 of C. reinhardtii was purified and shown to contain 6 Fe atoms/molecule of protein, as expected. Using DMSO, TMAO or thiosulfate as substrates for anaerobic respiration during the cell growth, 0.4 - 0.5 mg l-1(OD600 = 1) of catalytically active HydA1 was obtained with hydrogen evolution rate of ~700 µmol H2 mg-1 min-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By analysing the results of experiments carried out with two FeFe hydrogenases and several “channel mutants” of a NiFe hydrogenase, we demonstrate that whether or not hydrogen evolution is significantly inhibited by H2 is not a consequence of active site chemistry, but rather relates to H2 transport within the enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using direct electrochemistry to learn about the mechanism of electrocatalysts and redox enzymes requires that kinetic models be developed. Here we thoroughly discuss the interpretation of electrochemical signals obtained with adsorbed enzymes and molecular catalysts that can reversibly convert their substrate and product. We derive analytical relations between electrochemical observables (overpotentials for catalysis in each direction, positions, and magnitudes of the features of the catalytic wave) and the characteristics of the catalytic cycle (redox properties of the catalytic intermediates, kinetics of intramolecular and interfacial electron transfer, etc.). We discuss whether or not the position of the wave is determined by the redox potential of a redox relay when intramolecular electron transfer is slow. We demonstrate that there is no simple relation between the reduction potential of the active site and the catalytic bias of the enzyme, defined as the ratio of the oxidative and reductive limiting currents; this explains the recent experimental observation that the catalytic bias of NiFe hydrogenase depends on steps of the catalytic cycle that occur far from the active site [Abou Hamdan et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc.2012, 134, 8368]. On the experimental side, we examine which models can best describe original data obtained with various NiFe and FeFe hydrogenases, and we illustrate how the presence of an intramolecular electron transfer chain affects the voltammetry by comparing the data obtained with the FeFe hydrogenases from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Clostridium acetobutylicum, only one of which has a chain of redox relays. The considerations herein will help the interpretation of electrochemical data previously obtained with various other bidirectional oxidoreductases, and, possibly, synthetic inorganic catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct electron transfer between enzymes and electrodes is now commonly achieved, but obtaining protein films that are very stable may be challenging. This is particularly crucial in the case of hydrogenases, the enzymes that catalyze the biological conversion between dihydrogen and protons, because the instability of the hydrogenase films may prevent the use of these enzymes as electrocatalysts of H2 oxidation and production in biofuel cells and photoelectrochemical cells. Here we show that two different FeFe hydrogenases (from Chamydomonas reinhardtii and Clostridium acetobutylicum) can be covalently attached to functionalized pyrolytic graphite electrodes using peptidic coupling. In both cases, a surface patch of lysine residues makes it possible to favor an orientation that is efficient for fast, direct electron transfer. High hydrogen-oxidation current densities are maintained for up to one week, the only limitation being the intrinsic stability of the enzyme. We also show that covalent attachment has no effect on the catalytic properties of the enzyme, which means that this strategy can also used be for electrochemical studies of the catalytic mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A light-activated electron-transfer chain was assembled using solubilized cyanobacterialphotosystem I as photoactive enzyme, cytochrome 06 (also from cyanobacteria) as electron donor, andmethyl viologen as electron acceptor. The photocatalytic activity of the ensemble was measured by directand reversible electrochemistry of cytochrome 06 at a surface-modified gold electrode. Analysis of theelectrochemical response with an appropriate model for the reaction mechanism allowed the relation of the overall catalytic reaction rate to the individual steps of the catalytic cycle. Second-order rate constants were determined for the first time under steady-state conditions. The results validate this approach as an efficient method for the study of electron transfer between photoactive enzymes and their redox partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]